Summary
A Southwest Airlines pilot, David Paul Allsop, was removed from the cockpit and arrested for DUI before a flight from Savannah, Georgia, to Chicago.
Authorities reported signs of alcohol impairment, though his blood alcohol concentration (BAC) has not been disclosed.
FAA regulations prohibit pilots from flying within 8 hours of alcohol use or with a BAC of 0.04% or higher.
The incident follows strict FAA rules, including random alcohol testing for pilots.
Good for those who did their job and reported it. I’d much rather have a late or even canceled flight than the risk of anything happening because of someone even slightly impaired.
This DUI charge is probably going to be dropped in favor of federal charges by the FAA. Maybe not and he’ll get both state and federal charges. The legal limit is not the same as cars. It’s 0.04%, half of the automotive limit as noted in the article.
The pilot will be suspended immediately.
If guilty;
The pilot will lose all pilot certificates
Lose pilot medical certificate
Be immediately fired. No airline allows aircraft OUI incidents
Face possible incarceration
Get some nasty fines
Alcoholism sucks. Sometimes it can also just be a shitty one-time decision. This dude is fucked because they pulled him from the flight deck. If you’re caught before getting in the flight deck it’s still gonna suck and you’ll still lose everything, but you have a hope of flying commercially again with a lot of effort.
Fortunately, commercial pilots in the US have access to mental health resources to help treat things like substance abuse or the underlying factors that could lead to it.
Oh wait, I misspoke.
What I meant to say was commercial pilots in the US can not seek mental health resources AT ALL or they get their license revoked by the FAA. Silly me.
