Police have charged a pilot who was found to be impaired prior to his plane’s departure from Calgary’s International Airport Saturday.
It happened just before 7 a.m. when the Sunwing Airlines pilot boarded an aircraft scheduled to fly to Regina and Winnipeg, with a final destination of Cancun, Mexico.
Prior to departure, gate crew and crew aboard the flight noticed that the pilot was behaving oddly, and he then became unconscious in the cockpit.
The 737 800 Series aircraft had 99 passengers aboard with six flight crew, including the pilot.
The pilot was escorted from the aircraft and taken into custody by police.
Police say initial tests indicated the pilot was severely impaired by alcohol.
The pilot has been charged with the following:
- Having care and control of an aircraft while impaired
- Having care and control of an aircraft while having a blood alcohol level over .08 (or exceeding 80 mgs of alcohol per 100mL of blood)
Sunwing Airlines confirmed the pilot’s scheduled flight assignment as Sunwing flight 595.
The gate agents, first officer and crew “determined that the Captain was unfit to fly and reported this accordingly,” Sunwing Airlines said in a statement.
“We are very appreciative of our crew’s diligence in handling this very unfortunate matter. We were able to secure a new Captain and are pleased to report that our customers are now en route to their destination after experiencing a minimal delay. We are very apologetic for any upset that this has caused and would like to assure our customers that safety remains our utmost priority,” Jacqueline Grossman, from Sunwing, stated.
The name of the pilot will be released when he sees a Justice of the Peace.
Source: GlobalNews