US Airways Flight out of Des Moines Delayed, Crew Given Drug Test
US Airways
A US Airways flight scheduled from Des Moines, Iowa to Charlotte, N.C. on Saturday was delayed for four hours after a passenger made a comment that the crew had been drinking.
‘Tina Swail, spokeswoman for U.S. Airways, said the flight to Charlotte, N.C., scheduled to leave at 7 a.m. was originally delayed for two hours because the inbound flight from the night before the crew had been on arrived late. The crew’s rest contract and other rules required the two-hour delay, she said.
Clark and his wife arrived at the Des Moines Airport about 5:15 a.m. for their early morning flight. They even spent the night here in Des Moines. At about 7:30 this morning, they received word their flight had been delayed.
As they were boarding, he heard one of the passengers ask the crew if they had partied too much the night before. The passengers laughed, and they continued boarding.
“He said it jokingly, and I didn’t really think much of it, personally,” he said.
When they got on the flight, the pilot made an announcement that the crew would be taking a drug test because of what the passenger had said. Then they waited, for an hour and a half, and eventually deplaned while the test was administered.’
The crew passed the drug test and the man who made the comment was not allowed back on the flight.
Category: Airnation
And the moral of the story: “The crew passed the drug test and the man who made the comment was not allowed back on the flight.”
Haha, this made me laugh out loud… Yes ladies and gentleman, not only is talk of bombs not allowed in an airport, but asking your crew if they’ve partied too much will also result in you getting kicked off the flight. What’s next??
Chris, What’s next you ask? Someone will be kicked of a flight for passing gas!
‘So…did any of you get any last night??’
Can you ask that? :)
LOL Apparently not, James! This story made me giggle so hard; i’ve shown pretty much everyone i know this story and everyone is as confused as i am as to how this really went down! There’s gotta be some part of this story missing LOL
Excuse me, it seems very clear what happened. Obviously the person who asked the original question or somebody else took it upon themselves to report their suspicions to the police that the pilots were above the legal limit. Police are the only ones allowed to administer breathalyzer tests. Do you honestly believe a Pilot would ask for a drug test when the flight was already 2 hrs late?
Pilotman is right. As a former flight attendant, the flight is not going to be ground to a halt because a passenger made a quip.
‘Reasonable’ suspicion will require testing. Each situation’s definition of reasonable is different. In my last year at a large airline in the US, 14 pilots were accused by TSA and other airlines’ cabin crew of being under the influence. All 14 tested negative. From a public relations point of view, it is important that any allegation of crew drunkenness be addressed head-on. However, when the pilots are cleared, the accusers should be held liable.