A Southwest Airlines pilot has been arrested moments before the Chicago-bound flight was scheduled to take off in Georgia as he allegedly showed up to work in an inebriated state, according to a report in CBS News. The pilot, identified as David Paul Allsop, 52, was arrested at Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport at around 7 am on Wednesday (Jan 15) and charged with driving under the influence (DUI).
Mr Allsop allegedly reeked of alcohol and showed signs of intoxication when he was whiskered away by the airport police. As per the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations, pilots are prohibited from using alcohol while on duty or from flying or attempting to fly an aircraft within eight hours of consuming alcohol or if they have a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.04 per cent or greater.
Though the airline and the police have not released Mr Allsop's breath or blood alcohol concentration, his intoxication level was deemed unsafe for chauffering the flight.
"We're aware of a situation involving an Employee on Flight 3772 this morning from Savannah. The employee has been removed from duty," the airline said.
The passengers were accommodated on other flights while the Georgia-bound flight operated around 11 am, nearly four hours after the scheduled takeoff.
"We apologise for the disruption to their travel plans. There's nothing more important to Southwest than the safety of our employees and customers," an airline spokesperson added.
Previous incident
This is not the first instance when such an incident has been reported. In June 2023, a Delta Airlines pilot was arrested 30 minutes before a flight. The plane was to undertake a seven-hour journey from Edinburg Airport to John F. Kennedy International Airport when the 61-year-old pilot was apprehended by the authorities for being almost two-and-a-half times over the alcohol blood limit.
The accused, Captain Lawrence Russell, arrived at baggage control, wearing his pilot's uniform. However, his carry-on luggage was rejected by the X-ray scanner when it was found to contain two bottles of Jagermeister, one of which was opened and "just under half full".
In March last year, he was sentenced to jail for 10 months by an Edinburg Court where he pleaded guilty to reporting for duty as a pilot while being impaired through alcohol.
