Suspected Of Being Intoxicated Prior To Flight

A 44-year-old United Airlines pilot has some explaining to do, after he was removed from the cockpit of a Boeing 777 at London Heathrow Sunday morning. The Daily Telegraph reports the pilot failed a breathalyzer test.

Few specifics are available about the incident, though the Telegraph reports its sources believe police were called after a member of the airport's ground staff suspected the pilot of imbibing before departing on the long trans-Atlantic flight to San Francisco.

"At approximately 9am on Sunday, officers attended an aircraft at Heathrow Terminal One and arrested a 44-year-old man," said a spokesman for London's Metropolitan police. "The man arrested is bailed to return to Heathrow police station on January 16 pending further enquiries."

Passengers said they were surprised to see the pilot led out of their aircraft by police.

"We couldn't believe what we were seeing. The pilot was marched off the aircraft," said one traveler to The Sun. "A couple of police officers stormed onto the plane as we were all sitting down and went straight for the cockpit... We didn't have a clue what was happening and we were kept waiting on the plane for hours."

"United's alcohol policy is among the strictest in the industry and we have no tolerance for abuse or violation of this well-established policy," the airline said. "Safety is our No. 1 priority and the pilot has been removed from service while we are co-operating with authorities and conducting a full investigation."

FMI: www.united.com