Airport police pulled a pilot out of the cockpit on a JetBlue flight departing from Buffalo on Wednesday morning and conducted a sobriety test that showed blood alcohol levels were more than four times the federal pilot limit, authorities said.
The pilot, 52-year-old James Clifton, was detained by Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority police, who notified federal authorities and released him to JetBlue security officials, according to the transport authority that manages Buffalo Airport.
A spokeswoman for the transport authorities said the pilot had not been arrested by airport police, but added that he could face federal charges and that the investigation was ongoing.
When Mr. Clifton went through a security check for a 6:15 a.m. flight from Buffalo Niagara International Airport to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, a Transportation Security Administration official noted that he “may have been harmed,” officials said. the airport in statement on Wednesday.
The pilot managed to enter the cockpit, the statement said. A portable breathalyzer test was performed and a blood alcohol content of 0.17 was registered, the statement said.
The Federal Aviation Administration prohibits pilots from flying airplanes if they have a blood alcohol content of 0.04 or higher or if they have consumed alcohol in the last eight hours. In New York State, the threshold for a charge of drunk driving is a blood alcohol content of 0.08.
Derek Dombrowski, a spokesman for JetBlue, said in a statement that “the crew member has been removed from his duties”. He added that the airline has a “very strict internal policy on zero tolerance for alcohol” and that it is conducting its own internal investigation.
Mr Clifton, who airport officials said was from Orlando, Florida, could not be found on Wednesday night at several numbers listed under his name.
The flight he was supposed to fly, the JetBlue 2465, took off more than four hours late, according to FlightAware, which provides aviation data. The plane is referred to as the Airbus A320, which typically seats 140 to 170 passengers, according to Airbus.
A spokesman for the FAA said in a statement that the agency was “investigating allegations that an airline pilot tried to report for duty while under the influence of alcohol.” The spokesman added: “The agency takes these issues seriously.”
It is unusual to see a flight delay due to the pilot’s behavior. Of the thousands of delays and canceled flights in the last few months, most have been caused by unruly passengers, Covid-19 epidemics or bad weather.