American Airlines said Thursday that the pilot removed from a D/FW-Cancun flight for suspected drinking had “no trace of alcohol found” after testing.
“We are continuing our investigation of the incident,” spokeswoman Andrea Huguely, who referred to the pilot only as a “crewmember.”
To recap from our limited knowledge of the incident, the flight was scheduled to take off Wednesday from D/FW Airport at 4:30 p.m. and land in Cancun at 7:05 p.m.
However, a flight attendant raised questions about whether the pilot had been drinking, we’re told. The pilot told passengers over the public address system about the accusation, which he denied but said it would force his removal from the flight.
With thunderstorms also delaying departure, the airplane finally took off at 8:52 p.m. and arrived in Cancun at 11:10 p.m., four hours and five minutes behind schedule.
As a side note, I wonder when the flight attendant and pilot are scheduled to fly together again?
The Allied Pilots Association issued this statement Thursday afternoon:
“Our pilot was falsely accused of alcohol use prior to departure. To protect his career and the airline, he chose to remove himself from duty and voluntarily undergo testing. The tests were negative.”It is extremely unfortunate that a false accusation was made. Actual incidents involving inappropriate alcohol consumption by commercial airline pilots are exceedingly rare. Our pilots are consummate professionals in a safety-sensitive business and they take their responsibilities for life and property seriously.
“While the ensuing flight delay was regrettable, when faced with a false accusation of this magnitude, our pilot absolutely did the right thing to remove himself in order to eliminate any doubt about his condition.”
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