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Feds Say Pilot Flew Drunk, Alaska Airlines Pilot Denies Charges

By Noelle Nicholas
Published on: 05:38 PST, Jan 22, 2016

Encountering a drunk pilot is one of the many phobias faced by those who are afraid to fly. It seems incomprehensible that a pilot could actually get away with flying drunk, but feds say that’s exactly what happened with one Alaska Airlines pilot, who has been arrested on charges that he flew two Alaska Airlines flights while drunk.

David Hans Arntson is the pilot who stands accused of being drunk while he flew from San Diego International Airport to Portland, Oregon, and then from Portland on to Orange County’s John Wayne Airport. Feds say the incident occurred on June 20, 2014, although the pilot was recently arrested just this week.

According to Q13 Fox, the pilot was met at John Wayne Airport by an Alaskan Airlines drug tester. When Arntson saw the drug tester, says the co-pilot, he allegedly knew he would be the subject of the testing.

Two tests clearly showed the pilot was drunk when he flew the two Alaskan Airlines flights. One test read Arntson’s blood alcohol level at 0.134 and the other at 0.142, which is a shockingly high blood alcohol level. NBC News reports that the minimum blood alcohol level required to charge one with a DUI while driving a car is only 0.08.

The pilot, who worked in the same job with the company, as well as its previous owner, Jet America, for over 30 years, did not admit to being drunk or to consuming any alcohol at all.

In fact, none of the crew members that the pilot flew with that day witnessed him drinking alcohol or even smelling of alcohol. Adding to that, the spokesperson for Alaska Airlines, Bobbie Egan, confirmed that the pilot had always passed random drug and alcohol testing in the past.

The pilot tried to have an independent test done that day to prove he was innocent but could not attain one without a prescription. Arntson acquired his own blood test the following morning, on June 21, 2014, after procuring a prescription. That test was completely negative.

The following, reports 10 News, is an excerpt from the criminal complaint.

“According to federal law, a person operating a “common carrier,” such as a commercial airliner, is presumed to be under the influence of alcohol when his or her blood alcohol content is 0.10 percent or higher.

“A criminal complaint contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.”

Eileen M. Decker, a United States Attorney, has spoken out quite firmly on the subject of the pilot who flew while drunk.

“Those in command of passenger jets, or any other form of public transportation, have an obligation to serve the public in the safest and most responsible way possible. We cannot and will not tolerate those who violate the trust of their passengers by endangering lives.”

A criminal complaint has been filed against the pilot, who retired from Alaska Airlines directly after submitting to the tests that showed he flew while drunk.

This negative news does not seem to have hurt business for the busy airline, as the company tweeted earlier this month they have, once again, been voted number one.

Are the feds correct? Did the pilot who flew these two flights in June of 2014 do so while drunk? Share your opinions here.

[Image via Shutterstock]

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