Partying Pilot Grounded A Day Later, Canceling Flight

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Key Takeaways:

  • An Air Japan pilot was grounded and his Dallas-to-Tokyo flight canceled after engaging in disruptive behavior during a layover, despite having no alcohol in his system when reporting for duty.
  • Police had been called and warned the pilot for his conduct during his layover, which involved partying into the early hours.
  • Air Japan apologized for the cancellation, acknowledged the seriousness of the situation, and promised to prevent future occurrences.
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A partying pilot who had no alcohol in his system when he reported for his scheduled flight was grounded by Air Japan, forcing cancellation of the flight from Dallas to Tokyo last week. Various reports said the pilot was drinking and carrying on into the wee hours after landing in Dallas on Tuesday during a layover that lasted until late the following night. At one point police were called and the pilot was warned for disruptive behavior but not arrested.

He was scheduled to fly about 20 hours later and passed a sobriety test, but the airline was taking no chances. “We sincerely apologize to the customers who were involved in this flight cancellation. We are fully aware of the seriousness of this situation,” the airline said in a statement, promising to make sure it never happened again.

Russ Niles

Russ Niles is Editor-in-Chief of AVweb. He has been a pilot for 30 years and joined AVweb 22 years ago. He and his wife Marni live in southern British Columbia where they also operate a small winery.
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