Flight Cancelled After American Airlines Pilot Arrested For Being Drunk, Stranding Spring Breakers

Rob Fox10 years ago

  
A flight from Detroit to Philadelphia was cancelled after the American Airlines co-pilot assigned to the flight was arrested for what I’m going to call an FUI. And, while the ordeal was certainly a pain in the ass, witnessing the scene pictured above would be legitimately priceless (at least if you’re a trash person like me and relish in the humiliation of others).

Via Buzzfeed News:

The co-pilot was detained at a security checkpoint at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport on Saturday after allegedly testing above the legal limit of .04 for blood alcohol, Tony Molinaro, a spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration, told BuzzFeed News in a statement.

I guess the first question to ask is, “Why for the love of God is the legal alcohol limit for pilots not 0.00?!?” I get that one beer or glass of wine isn’t going to technically “intoxicate” anyone, least of all someone in a job field with stereotypes that include “raging alcoholic,” but for fuck’s sake this is an airplane not a pontoon boat. You can’t just hop behind the wheel after throwing back a few margaritas and assume everyone is going to be fine. It’s only a matter of time before ISIS starts anonymously mailing airline pilots thousands of dollars worth of Chilis Too gift cards. (If you see a pilot in a Chilis Too, alert the FAA.)

But, then again, if the legal limit for pilots wasn’t above zero then they couldn’t fly hungover and none of us would ever get anywhere ever. All of this feels like an argument that definitely once occurred at a collective bargaining agreement between the pilot’s union and the airlines.

Apparently the cancelled flight left a lot of passengers stranded in Detroit through the night.   

Ironically, if that were me, it would’ve led to some serious airport drinking (and subsequent drunken berating of whoever was working the nearest counter).
Like most shitty situations, at least they got a good story out of it. And hopefully enough miles to go on spring break for free for the rest of their college careers.