American Airlines Co-Pilot Suspected Of Being Drunk Detained At Detroit Metro Airport
ROMULUS (WWJ/AP) - Federal authorities say an American Airlines co-pilot has been detained at Detroit Metropolitan Airport after he was suspected of being drunk.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the co-pilot was held from a Saturday morning flight from Detroit to Philadelphia. He's suspected of having a blood-alcohol level above the legal limit. Because of that, Flight-736 -- which was scheduled to take off just before 7 a.m. -- was canceled.
The pilot was detained at a security checkpoint after arriving for the flight at the airport in the Detroit suburb of Romulus.
"Police responded with a field Breathalyzer and the co-pilot was indeed over the legal limits," Airport Public Affairs Director Michael Conway told WWJ's Jason Scott. "They also took him to a local jurisdiction for a more sophisticated machine called the Data Master. On that machine, he also continued to be over the legal limit for a co-pilot. So American Airlines cancelled the fight and are reaccommodating those customers on other flights."
American Airlines spokeswoman Laura Nedbal said in a statement that "safety is our highest priority and we apologize to our customers for the disruption to their travel plans."
Airline officials declined to discuss the co-pilot or his condition but say it's assisting local law enforcement agencies. Conway says the co-pilot is from Pennsylvania and was born in 1965.
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