German police pull drunk Delta pilot off Atlanta-bound flight

n-e-w-s wrote:

German police stop Delta pilot on alcohol suspicion
Thu Mar 3, 2005

FRANKFURT, March 3 (Reuters) - German police detained a Delta Air
Lines pilot suspected of being drunk at Frankfurt airport just before
he was due to make a flight to Atlanta, a spokeswoman for the airline
said on Thursday.

The first officer, one of two co-pilots on the Monday flight, was
taken to a Frankfurt police station and given a blood-alcohol test. A
Frankfurt police spokesman confirmed the pilot was detained and said
the test results were not yet known.

"One of the first officers of Delta flight 27 was detained by local
law enforcement representatives in Germany because of alleged alcohol
use," a spokeswoman for Delta in Munich said.

"Delta has removed the pilot from active service pending further
investigation of this matter." She declined to provide any details
about the pilot's name, age or nationality.

She said the Feb. 28 flight, which was carrying 156 passengers to the
southern U.S. city, was delayed slightly. The plane departed with a
captain and just one first officer rather than two, she said.

Police said the pilot was being investigated for possible charges of
dangerous interference in air transport.


When I die, I want to die peaceably in my sleep, like my grandfather;
Not screaming in terror like his passengers.