An American Eagle pilot was arrested and suspended after he was found to be drunk before flying a plane at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
Kolbjorn Jarle Kristiansen, 48, of North Carolina was removed from the aircraft by police on suspicion of being under the influence of alcohol on Friday. Kristiansen was in the cockpit preparing the plane for takeoff when he was arrested just after 6 a.m, the Star Tribune reports.
A TSA agent said that the pilot smelled of alcohol. They notified the police who was taken off the plane and given a breathalyzer test which he failed. He was then taken to a local hospital for a blood-alcohol test.
There were no passengers on board the plane when the arrest was made, but there were 53 passengers on Flight 4590 when a replacement pilot was found. The flight to LaGuardia airport in New York took off two and a half hours later than scheduled.
The drunk pilot was not yet charged, but charges are pending. He was booked and released, but he has since been suspended as the investigation continues.
American Eagle is owned by American Airlines. Airline spokesman Matt Miller released a statement about the incident.
"American Eagle has a well-established substance abuse policy that is designed to put the safety of our customers and employees first. We are cooperating with authorities and conducting a full internal investigation. The pilot will be withheld from service pending the outcome of the investigation," Miller said, according to the Star Tribune.
It will take a few weeks for the results of the blood alcohol test to come back but the legal limit for flying in Minnesota is 0.04, which is lower than the legal driving limit of 0.08.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
