A JetBlue pilot was removed from the cockpit minutes before taking off from an airport in upstate New York on Wednesday and was found to have a blood alcohol level more than four times the legal flight limit, according to reports.
James Clifton, 52, took a breathalyzer after cops pulled him off a plane to Fort Lauderdale from Buffalo Niagara International Airport, a spokesman for the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority told The Buffalo News.
The Orlando resident, Florida, was allegedly visibly drunk when he went through security before boarding the plane, prompting agents from the Transportation Security Administration to notify cops, the report said.
His blood alcohol content is 0.17 percent, which is twice the 0.08 percent limit for driving a car and four times the 0.04 percent BAC limit set for pilots under Federal Aviation Administration regulations, according to WIVB-TV.
The flight, originally scheduled to leave Buffalo at 6:15 a.m., was delayed by four hours and 10 minutes, according to flight tracking site FlightAware.com. He arrived in Florida at 1:10 p.m. Wednesday, according to the site.
An NFTA spokesman did not answer a phone call from The Post on Friday. A JetBlue spokesman said the pilot had been suspended.
“The safety of JetBlue customers and crew is our first priority,” the spokesman told The Post. “We stick to everyone [Department of Transportation] rules and requirements for alcohol at all times and have a very strict internal zero tolerance policy.
“We are aware of the incident that took place this morning in Buffalo and are cooperating fully with law enforcement,” the spokesman added. “We are also conducting our own internal investigation.”