A Southwest Airlines pilot was arrested shortly before takeoff Wednesday in Georgia after showing up for work drunk, police said.
New Hampshire resident David Allsop, 52, was arrested Wednesday at Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport around 7 a.m., according to the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office. He was charged with driving under the influence.
Allsop was apprehended just before Southwest Flight 3772, bound for Chicago, was about to leave Georgia. It took off shortly before 11 a.m., nearly four hours after its scheduled takeoff.
Southwest told Fox News Digital that it was investigating the incident and that Allsop, whose LinkedIn profile says he is a pilot, had been “removed from duty.”
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A Southwest Airlines pilot was arrested after showing up for work drunk.
“We are aware of a situation involving an employee on Flight 3772 this morning from Savannah,” the airline said. “The employee has been terminated.”
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Southwest also noted that the flight’s passengers had been accommodated on other flights while Flight 3772 remained grounded.
“Customers have been accommodated on other flights and we apologize for the disruption to their travel plans,” a spokesperson said. “There is nothing more important to Southwest than the safety of our employees and customers.”
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David Allsop was arrested Wednesday morning, according to Georgia authorities.
It is rare, but not uncommon, for a pilot to be arrested or apprehended for excessive alcohol consumption before a flight. Last May, Japan Airlines grounded a flight from Dallas to Tokyo after discovering that a pilot had drunk too much the night before.
Although the pilot did not violate internal guidelines prohibiting alcohol consumption within 12 hours before departure, Japan Airlines canceled the flight in order to “evaluate the captain’s physical and mental well-being.”
A Southwest Airlines jet lands at Chicago Midway International Airport.
Authorities are actively investigating the incident.
Christina Coulter, David Lewkowict and Chip Bell of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.
Original article source: Southwest Airlines pilot arrested at Georgia airport for showing up for work drunk: police
