Minnesota Airport Arrest Grounds American Eagle Pilot: Don’t Drink And Fly

Everybody know the adage “Don’t drink and drive”, but not all of us get the obvious amendment. Minnesota Airport is making it clear with the arrest of an American Eagle pilot to not drink and fly.

The passengers are fine to be served alcohol in flight as long as they don’t cause a nuisance, but pilots definitely shouldn’t drink on duty. It’s only common sense.

Airport police arrested the pilot Friday after he failed a blood-alcohol breath test prior to flying from Minneapolis-St. Paul to New York City. The pilot had been conducting preflight checks about 6:30 am when airport police officers received a tip and boarded the aircraft to investigate, says spokesman Patrick Hogan. Officers made him take a Breathalyzer test and arrested him on suspicion of being intoxicated, says FOX News.

Hogan said:

“There was a witness who smelled what they thought was alcohol on the pilot’s breath and notified police.”

Passengers had not yet boarded the flight to La Guardia, New York City.

The pilot has been suspended pending investigation, according to a spokesman for American Airlines. The owner of American Eagle, the airline is cooperating with authorities and will conduct an internal investigation, according to CBS News.

The blood-alcohol limit for flying is lower than for driving, Hogan said, and for good reason Plane crashes tend to be much more dangerous than those in automobiles, and carry far more passengers. Hogan also states:

“In Minnesota, the legal limit for pilots is .04, much stricter than someone traveling on a road in the state.”

There you go, kids. Don’t drink and fly, a public service announcement from American Airlines.