Police at a Georgia airport charged an airline pilot with DUI after performing a pre-flight test on a Southwest Airlines flight with bloodshot eyes and an odor of alcohol, according to a police report. I was arrested.
The passengers were boarding a Southwest Airlines flight from Savannah to Chicago and were waiting to take off Wednesday morning when police boarded the plane and took the pilot away in handcuffs.
The Transportation Security Administration said in a statement that the 52-year-old pilot was followed Wednesday morning after airport security officers reported that he “smelled of alcohol and appeared to be intoxicated” while checking in at the crew screening lane. did.
According to an airport police incident report, officers found the pilot “sitting in the cockpit performing pre-flight inspections.” The pilot had a “strong smell of alcohol” and had “bloodshot eyes, watery eyes and a flushed complexion,” the newspaper said.
Police said the pilot said the odor was coming from the nicotine patch. He told officers he had had “a few light beers” the night before.
The pilot was arrested after taking a field sobriety test and showing difficulty maintaining balance and other signs of intoxication, according to a police report. He was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after refusing a blood alcohol test.
Southwest Airlines said in a statement that the pilot was “removed from duty.”
“The customer was busy with other flights and we apologize for any disruption to his travel plans,” the airline said in a statement.
Federal Aviation Administration regulations prohibit pilots from flying within eight hours of drinking alcohol. Pilots are also prohibited from flying if their blood alcohol level is 0.04 or higher. That’s half the legal limit for driving in Georgia.
