Southwest pilot charged with DUI after attempting to fly in Georgia

A Southwest Airlines pilot was charged with driving under the influence after he was arrested Wednesday morning at the airport in Savannah, Georgia.

According to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), a security officer contacted local law enforcement after spotting someone “who smelled of alcohol and appeared intoxicated” in the lane for crew members inside the Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport.

Airport police arrested David Paul Allsop, 52, at 7 a.m. Airport officials did not immediately release information on his arrest, but booking information from the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office includes the charge and shows that he was released on $3,500 bond. He could not be reached for comment Thursday.

One witness said the pilot was at the controls before authorities removed him. Robert Newmarch, who said he was a passenger on the flight, told local news station WTOC 11 that he was on the plane getting ready to take off when he saw a police officer walk in and go into the flight deck.

“He walked back out of the plane, came back a couple minutes later, and the pilot left with him,” Newmarch said.

FAA regulations say that pilots can’t use alcohol while they’re on duty. They are not allowed to fly or attempt to fly a plane within eight hours of consuming alcohol or if their blood alcohol concentration is 0.04 or greater. In March, a Delta Air Lines pilot who showed up for a flight with a prohibited blood alcohol level in Scotland was sentenced to 10 months in jail.

Allsop was meant to fly from Savannah to Chicago Midway on a 6:05 a.m. flight Wednesday; Southwest said Thursday that “the employee involved in the situation” on that flight had been “removed from duty.”

The plane left around 11 a.m., according to flight-tracking sites.

“Customers were accommodated on other flights and we apologize for the disruption to their travel plans,” the airline said in a statement. “There’s nothing more important to Southwest than the safety of our employees and customers.”

TSA said in its statement that the agency keeps close relationships with local law enforcement for scenarios like the one that unfolded Wednesday.

“TSA always reminds passengers that if you see something, say something, and that is exactly what our Transportation Security Officer at Savannah-Hilton Head International Airport (SAV) did when they saw something out of the norm,” the agency said.