To prevent pilots from drinking too much and potentially taking dozens or hundreds of passengers into the air while under the influence, airlines are legally required to conduct a number of alcohol and drug checks among the crew each year.
While pilots are not asked to breathe into a breathalyzer every time they fly, they can be randomly pulled aside for a check at any time.
In other cases, the authorities can pull a pilot aside for a check if they suspect that the pilot was drinking. In a case that ended up with a United Airlines (UAL) pilot sentenced to 10 months in jail, one Scottish pilot was checked after a fellow bar goer recognized him by the uniform and posted about the incident on social media.
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Southwest says it is 'aware of a situation involving an employee'
On Jan. 15 Southwest Airlines (LUV) pilot David Paul Allsop was led from a plane gate in handcuffs and taken into custody on suspicion of drunk driving.
The plane was sitting on the runway of Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport (SAV) and was supposed to take about 160 people to Chicago's Midway International (MDW).
The 52-year-old pilot from New Hampshire has been booked into jail and released on $3,500 bail as he awaits a court date to be arraigned on a DUI charge. A Southwest spokesperson said Allsop has been "removed from duty."
Related: Delta Air Lines pilot with alcohol in system will spend time in jail
"We're aware of a situation involving an employee on Flight 3772 Wednesday morning from Savannah," a Southwest spokesperson said. "Customers were accommodated on other flights, and we apologize for the disruption to their travel plans."
The flight on a Boeing 737 (BA) was slated to depart at 6 a.m. on Wednesday morning. The authorities were notified after someone suspected that Allsop was under the influence and called the authorities during crew-member check-in.
FAA bottle-to-throttle rule cracks down on alcohol consumption by pilots
The officer who examined Allstop said he had "bloodshot" eyes and a "noticeable odor emanating." As a result, he was asked to step out of the plane for a breath test, which he failed and was then led off.
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The Federal Aviation Administration abides by the "bottle to throttle" rule, which requires that pilot must stop consuming alcohol at least eight hours before he or she flies a plane. The blood alcohol content level on a breathalyzer, if it is checked, must be below 0.04%.
Numbers the FAA feported show that out of the 17,600 pilots tested for alcohol consumption in 2023, eight were found to have a blood alcohol level of 0.04% or higher. Such a percentage can come up if someone had a drink half a day earlier.
Last March, a Delta (DAL) pilot just a few years away from mandatory retirement was sentenced to 10 months in jail.
In June 2023 baggage-screening workers noticed that 63-year-old Lawrence B. Russell Jr. had carried a bottle of German liqueur Jägermeister that was "just under half full" through security. Russell was preparing to fly a Boeing 767-300 from Edinburgh to New York.
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