[durt]

A British Airways pilot was taken off a plane on suspicion of being drunk, officials said, before the aircraft took off from London's Gatwick Airport.

The pilot was removed and arrested Thursday night before the British Airways Boeing 777 departed to Mauritius. The incident delayed the flight's departure by more than two hours.

Police "received a report of a member of airline staff suspected to have been under the influence of alcohol at Gatwick Airport," said a Sussex police spokeswoman.


"A 49-year-old man from Harmondsworth, West Drayton in Hillingdon, was arrested on suspicion of performing an aviation function when the level of alcohol was over the prescribed limit," the spokeswoman said.

The man was still in custody as of Friday night.

A British Airways spokesman said the airline was "taking this matter extremely seriously and are assisting the police with their inquiries."

"We are sorry for the delay to our customers," the spokesman said. "The aircraft remained at the gate until an alternative third pilot joined the flight crew. The safety and security of our customers and crew is always our top priority."

[durt]

then there's this guy

[lesslis2015]

Drunk drivers, drunk surgeons, drunk lawyers, drunk teachers, drunk judges, drunk homeless, drunk pilots. Who kills more? scary stuff.

[Bletch]

Well that reassures my belief in airline safety

[Ninjavandal]

Oh well, air travel is still the safest form of transportation ... or so I keep to telling myself.

[Ninjavandal]

Originally Posted by durt ↗

then there's this guy

That was fucking amazing!

[murofhsirgo]

Man that Cub is one forgiving aircraft holy fuck!

[Stevieaitch]

Probably perfectly able to fly just a snitch over the limit from the night before. Could have been medication affecting his tolerance because he would have done this many times and knew how much to drink if he was flying the next day. Oh well dont fucking drink alcohol you pilot fuck. They think theyre gods anyway and all they are are glorified taxi drivers push to the limits of health from long hours and low pay. The glory days have gone. Airforce pilots dont seem too keen these days to join an airline once they retire from the forces and would rather sculpt life size orca whales in human shit and sell them on ebay instead as a career choice. So im told.

[booboo2718]

I love air shows. Nice stunt. Had me going there for a while.

[Dr. Dot]

I've seen his routine a few times. He's REALLY good.