Drunk Pilot Arrested at Airport as He's About to Go to Work

Drunk driving is bad enough, but drunk FLYING? Good things they nabbed this guy before he got into the cockpit.  And this wasn't some little puddle-jumper flight: this was a United Airlines flight from London to Chicago!

Police charged a United Airlines pilot on suspicion of being drunk as he was about to help fly a passenger plane from Heathrow Airport, a spokesman said. Erwin Vermont Washington, 51, was charged with "exceeding the proscribed alcohol limit" after his arrest at the world's busiest airport a day earlier, police said late on Tuesday/

Washington, of Lakewood, Colorado, was charged with "being aviation staff performing an aviation function whilst exceeding the proscribed alcohol limit," the police spokesman said.

The pilot was arrested on Monday afternoon before the plane carrying 124 passengers and 11 crew was due to depart for Chicago, Scotland Yard and the airline said earlier Tuesday.

SOURCE: 'Drunk' United Airlines pilot arrested at Heathrow - Yahoo! Canada News