Southwest Pilot Charged With DUI

A Southwest Airlines pilot was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly reporting to work while intoxicated, multiple outlets have reported.

The pilot, identified as 52-year-old David Allsop, was taken into custody at Hilton Head International Airport in Savannah after a security official noticed he appeared intoxicated and allegedly smelled of alcohol. Allsop was scheduled to operate Flight 3772 to Chicago but was detained before takeoff.

“We’re aware of a situation involving an employee on Flight 3772 Wednesday morning from Savannah,” Southwest Airlines said in a statement to CNN, confirming that Allsop has been “removed from duty.”

According to booking documents obtained by ABC News, Allsop was performing preflight checks when he was removed from the cockpit. He was given a sobriety test on the jet bridge, which he failed.

Allsop, a captain based at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport in Maryland, had been with Southwest Airlines for 18 years.