Investigations are underway in Canada to determine how an intoxicated pilot managed to pass through several airport security points before passing out in the cockpit.
The Captain was scheduled to operate a 99-passenger Sunwing Airlines plane from Calgary International Airport when he was discovered unfit to fly.
He arrived at the airport on-time and made his way through multiple security checkpoints, The New York Times reported. It wasn’t until he was at the gate that his odd behaviour was noticed and flagged by Sunwing staff.
Ground crew notified the co-pilot of the Captain’s suspicious behavour, who then headed into the cockpit where he found his colleague unconscious.
Calgary Police Service’s Paul Stacey told media that the man was “severely impaired by alcohol” and was escorted off the aircraft.
“They found him slumped over in the seat.”
Paul Stacey, Calgary Police Service
“Obviously this had a very significant potential to cause great harm had the pilot actually been allowed to fly this plane.”
In a statement to media, a Sunwing spokesperson said the airline was “very apologetic” for the incident and stressed that safety is of the “utmost priority”.
“We are very apologetic for any upset that this has caused and would like to assure our customers that safety remains our utmost priority.”
Sunwing spokesperson