A JetBlue pilot had to be removed from the cockpit minutes before takeoff from an airport in upstate New York on Wednesday because he had a blood alcohol level more than four times the legal limit for flying, according to the reports.
James Clifton, 52, was subjected to a breathalyzer test after police removed him from the Fort Lauderdale-bound plane from Buffalo Niagara International Airport, the Niagara Border Transportation Authority reported.
Clifton, a resident of Orlando, Florida, was described as “visibly drunk” when he passed through security before boarding the plane, prompting Transportation Security Administration agents to notify police, according to the report.
His blood alcohol content was 0.17 percent, which is twice the 0.08 percent limit for driving a car and four times the 0.04 percent BAC limit imposed on drivers, according to the rules of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
JetBlue Flight 2465, originally scheduled to leave Buffalo at 6:15 a.m., was delayed four hours and 10 minutes, according to flight tracking site FlightAware.com. The plane did not take off until 10:25 a.m. and landed in Florida at 1:11 p.m.
According to the book of Federal Aviation Administration rules, pilots may not consume alcohol within eight hours of a flight and may not have a blood alcohol content greater than 0.04%. An FAA brochure on pilot safety summarizes the rule as “8 hours from bottle to throttle.”
However, some airlines choose to set stricter rules for their employees. United Airlines, for example, reportedly changed its drinking limit for pilots to 12 hours before a flight.
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JetBlue reported shortly after that the pilot had been removed from his duties.
“The safety of JetBlue customers and crew members is our first priority. We adhere to all rules and requirements [del Departamento de Transporte] regarding alcohol at all times and we have a very strict internal policy of zero tolerance on alcohol,” the company said in a statement.
“We are aware of the incident that occurred this morning in Buffalo and we are fully cooperating with law enforcement. We are also conducting our own internal investigation,” the company added.
It’s unclear if Clifton will be charged, but he was reportedly cooperative with police when he was removed from the cab after a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officer noticed he was drunk.
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