Intoxicated pilot removed from airliner preparing to depart MSP

Article by: PAUL WALSH , Star Tribune
Updated: January 4, 2013 - 9:31 AM

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An American Airlines captain was removed from his plane at MSP after failing a preliminary alcohol breath test.

Photo: Wilfredo Lee, Associated Press

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An American Airlines captiain preparing his jet for takeoff Friday morning from the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport was removed from the aircraft and arrested on suspicion of being under the influence of alcohol, an airport spokesman said.

Airport police boarded the plane at about 6:19 a.m. as the pilot was making his pre-flight checks, and had him take a preliminary alcohol breath test, said airport spokesman Patrick Hogan. The pilot failed the test, and he was taken into custody and brought to Fairview Southdale Hospital for a blood-alcohol test, Hogan added.

Hogan said he has yet to receive any specific measurement for the pilot's level of intoxication. For pilots, the legal limit is 0.04 percent, half of what it is for motorists.

The pilot came under suspicion because "someone believed his breath smelled of alcohol," Hogan said.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482