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It’s scary enough worrying about drunk drivers, but apparently, now you have to also worry about drunk flyers. Two United Airlines pilots were allegedly arrested for being drunk or under the influence of drugs before they were about to navigate an intercontinental flight.
United Airlines Flight #UA162 was scheduled to leave Glasgow Airport at 9 AM on Sunday. The intercontinental flight to Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, would end up being canceled after the two pilots were arrested. Scottish police officers were called to the airport at 7:35 AM.
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United Airlines originally said the flight was “canceled because of a crew scheduling disruption out of Glasgow.” So a pilot scheduled getting tanked on Bushmills, but United Airlines scheduled them to fly an airplane sober at the same time?
Thanks for reaching out. We regret that our flight for today from GLA to EWR, UA162, has been cancelled because of crew availability. We wish to assist you over here on Twitter, please send us the confirmation number, name on the record, and date of birth via DM. ^GX
— United Airlines (@united) August 3, 2019
Police in Scotland claim that two pilots, ages 61 and 45, were arrested on suspicion of being under the influence of alcohol or drugs. They allegedly failed a breathalyzer test and were not permitted to fly under the section of a transportation safety law that outlaws job intoxication and impairment for aviation.
Under the law, pilots and other flight personnel can be subjected to breathalyzer tests. The legal alcohol limit is less than half the drink-drive limit for motorists in Scotland.
So that could very well mean that the pilots had one beer and could be considered “intoxicated” on the strict air travel rules. Or they could have had alcohol in their system from the previous night since this was a morning flight. But, they also could have been plastered and their behavior or breath was reason enough to administer a breathalyzer test.
The pilots have not been charged but remain in custody. They have a court appearance scheduled for Tuesday, August 6, for “violating the Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003 (Section 93)” according to a police spokesperson.
“The safety of our customers and crew is always our top priority,” a United Airlines spokesperson said. “We hold all of our employees to the highest standards and have a strict, no-tolerance policy for alcohol.”
The passengers on the flight were each entitled to over $660 in compensation for the canceled flight.
Drunk pilots are apparently not a new thing. Last month, a Delta Air Lines pilot was arrested for being intoxicated. Gabriel Schroeder, 37, was arrested at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MPS) after he failed a sobriety test.
In October of last year, a Japanese pilot was found to be more than nine times over the legal alcohol limit before his flight from London Heathrow to Tokyo. Katsutoshi Jitsukawa, who was a pilot for Japan Airlines, was sentenced to 10 months in prison.