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Airline pilot suspected of drinking; Sioux Falls police investigating
SkyWest spokesperson says airline is cooperating with authorities
By JEFF MARTIN
September 6, 2006
Less than an hour before a pilot was scheduled to take off with a jet full of passengers from Sioux Falls, police were called to the airport to investigate whether he had been drinking.
At about 8:30 a.m., the Sioux Falls police officer assigned to the airport was notified that a pilot “had just passed through the pre-flight screening area and smelled like he had been consuming an alcoholic beverage,” according to a statement from police.
The pilot flies for SkyWest, a partner of Delta Airlines, police said. His name was not released.
“Our preliminary investigation indicated that the pilot did have a level of alcohol in his system,” the police statement said. “At this hour the investigation is continuing and the determination of charges, if any, is pending.”
Sabrena Suite, a spokesperson for SkyWest, said "the captain has been put on administrative leave."
She understood the pilot had "overnighted" in Sioux Falls, meaning he had spent the night here before today's scheduled departure.
He was to have piloted a regional jet - Delta/Skywest flight 4047 - that was scheduled to depart Sioux Falls at 9 a.m. bound for Salt Lake City, Utah, Suite confirmed.
The flight was delayed for hours while SkyWest found a replacement for the pilot. It departed Sioux Falls at 12:17 p.m., Suite said.
"Our primary concern has always been the safety of our passengers and crew members," Suite said. "We have a zero-tolerance policy for violations of our safety protocols."
Suite said the St. George, Utah-based airline is "doing all we can to cooperate with TSA and the local authoritiies."
TSA is an acronym for the federal Transportation Security Administration.
In 2002, a SkyWest pilot was ordered not to fly from Tucson, Ariz., to Salt Lake City after witnesses told police he was drunk and running through the Embassy Suites hotel screaming the night before the flight.
The 31-year-old pilot was suspended by the airline but not arrested, according to a report from the Knight Ridder / Tribune wire service.
SkyWest carried 16.6 million passengers last year, according to its Web site. The airline has about 9,800 employees and partners with Delta and United airlines.
For more on this story, see Thursday's Argus Leader.
SkyWest spokesperson says airline is cooperating with authorities
By JEFF MARTIN
September 6, 2006
Less than an hour before a pilot was scheduled to take off with a jet full of passengers from Sioux Falls, police were called to the airport to investigate whether he had been drinking.
At about 8:30 a.m., the Sioux Falls police officer assigned to the airport was notified that a pilot “had just passed through the pre-flight screening area and smelled like he had been consuming an alcoholic beverage,” according to a statement from police.
The pilot flies for SkyWest, a partner of Delta Airlines, police said. His name was not released.
“Our preliminary investigation indicated that the pilot did have a level of alcohol in his system,” the police statement said. “At this hour the investigation is continuing and the determination of charges, if any, is pending.”
Sabrena Suite, a spokesperson for SkyWest, said "the captain has been put on administrative leave."
She understood the pilot had "overnighted" in Sioux Falls, meaning he had spent the night here before today's scheduled departure.
He was to have piloted a regional jet - Delta/Skywest flight 4047 - that was scheduled to depart Sioux Falls at 9 a.m. bound for Salt Lake City, Utah, Suite confirmed.
The flight was delayed for hours while SkyWest found a replacement for the pilot. It departed Sioux Falls at 12:17 p.m., Suite said.
"Our primary concern has always been the safety of our passengers and crew members," Suite said. "We have a zero-tolerance policy for violations of our safety protocols."
Suite said the St. George, Utah-based airline is "doing all we can to cooperate with TSA and the local authoritiies."
TSA is an acronym for the federal Transportation Security Administration.
In 2002, a SkyWest pilot was ordered not to fly from Tucson, Ariz., to Salt Lake City after witnesses told police he was drunk and running through the Embassy Suites hotel screaming the night before the flight.
The 31-year-old pilot was suspended by the airline but not arrested, according to a report from the Knight Ridder / Tribune wire service.
SkyWest carried 16.6 million passengers last year, according to its Web site. The airline has about 9,800 employees and partners with Delta and United airlines.
For more on this story, see Thursday's Argus Leader.
