A Southwest Airlines pilot was detained in Georgia this week, causing a flight delay from Savannah/Hilton Head to Chicago Midway. The pilot was reportedly taken from the jet soon before it was scheduled to fly on Wednesday morning.
An early morning arrest.
Southwest Airlines pilot David Paul Allsorp, 52, of New Hampshire, was arrested at Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport (SAV) on Wednesday, January 15th, and lodged into a local jail for driving under the influence.
According to a police record released to Simple Flying, law enforcement came at the airport’s boarding gate 2 at 06:00 on Wednesday morning after receiving a complaint about a Southwest Airlines pilot suspected of being under the influence of alcohol.
The police officer discovered the pilot in the cockpit performing preflight inspections and instructed him to walk out onto the jetbridge, which he did without issue.
The officer then performed a standardized field sobriety test, which revealed the need for a blood alcohol test. The pilot refused to take the state-mandated blood test, which, along with the field sobriety test findings, established just cause for his detention and arrest.
According to Chatham County Sheriff’s Office jail records, Allsorp was charged with Driving Under The Influence and held on a $3,500 bond.
According to CNN, Allsop has been a certified pilot since 2008 and has spent 18 years flying with Southwest. When contacted by Simple Flying, a Southwest Airlines official confirmed the pilot’s removal from duty:
“The employee involved in the incident on Flight 3772 Wednesday morning from Savannah has been relieved of duty.
“There’s nothing more important to Southwest than the Safety of our Employees and Customers.”
The FAA demands at least 8 hours “from bottle to throttle,” but this does not guarantee pilots are in good physical condition or have a blood alcohol level below the permissible limit.
“You may not act as a crewmember of a civil aircraft within 8 hours after the consumption of any alcoholic beverage, while under the influence of alcohol, while using any drug that affects your faculties in any way contrary to safety, or while having an alcohol concentration of 0.04 or greater in a blood or breath specimen.”
For comparison, the criteria for pilots are twice as stringent as the 0.08% requirement for driving in the state of Georgia.
Southwest in Savannah.
Southwest Airlines Flight 3772 to Chicago Midway (MDW) had major delays as a result. Flightradar24 data shows that N467WN, a Boeing 737, left Savannah at 11:06, five hours later than expected. It landed in Chicago two hours later, at 12:01 p.m. local time.
A spokesman for Southwest Airlines verified that travelers with connections were rebooked on other flights or otherwise redirected.
“Customers were accommodated on other flights, and we apologize for the disruption to their travel plans.”
Southwest Airlines began servicing Coastal Georgia and South Carolina’s Low Country on March 11, 2021, with direct flights to five of its busiest markets: Baltimore/Washington (BWI), Chicago-Midway (MDW), Nashville (BNA), Houston-Hobby (HOU), and Dallas-Love Field (DAL).
Airport officials worked for nearly 20 years to bring Southwest Airlines to the airport before they commenced service. Today, the airline still serves the five original destinations and will restore service to Denver (DEN) and Saint Louis (STL) in March.