American Airlines Pilot Accused of Drinking
An American Airlines flight was delayed on Wednesday when the plane’s pilot was accused of being under the influence of alcohol. The Dallas-Fort Worth to Cancun service was suppose to leave at 4:30pm, but one of the flight attendants alerted airline officials after suspecting that the pilot had been drinking on the job.
The carrier didn’t say if the Boeing 757’s pilot was found to be drunk after a blood-alcohol test, but it’s been reported by media sources that the pilot passed. Mary Sanderson, a spokeswoman for American Airlines, said that safety is their top priority. If there is any question about the use the alcohol, their standard procedure is to remove the crew member and replace them so that the plane and passengers can be on their way.
All of the 161 passengers were given the option of staying on the plane or getting off until the flight could take off. They were also given a $10 food voucher to use at the airport during the wait. The flight was then rescheduled to depart at 6:45pm after the airline found another pilot. However, it didn’t get to take off until after 8pm, as they had to wait for bad weather to clear up.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) wasn’t involved in the investigation, but a spokesman, Lynn Lunsford, said that they are aware of the issue and are waiting for the results from the airline’s internal probe before getting involved. It’s a violation of FAA regulations to drink alcohol within 8 hours of flying, he added.
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One Response to “American Airlines Pilot Accused of Drinking”
I was on that flight and to think that the pilot had not been drinking is to say that the flight attendant reported the pilot to maliciously impune his reputation, either way, speaks badly for American Airline flight crews. The plane was headed to Mexico and the following day the major discussion around the pools was how AA treated the passengers. The flight was to land around 6:45pm and landed around 11pm and the Airlines handed out $10 food vouchers for a 4 hour delay which was solely iniated by its own employees. The most shamefull aspect of this situation is to realize how little AA thinks of its customer.