Pilot accused of being drunk is from N.C.
Authorities say the pilot arrested for being under the influence as he prepared his plane for takeoff is a 48-year-old North Carolina man.
The arrest record for the American Eagle pilot said officers and a TSA agent at Checkpoint 1 at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Aiport tipped off police to the pilot's condition, saying they could smell alcohol when they passed him as he waited for an airport elevator.
Authorities said they found him on his plane, removed him from the aircraft and administered a Breathalyzer test. The police said he registered over the 0.04 percent blood alcohol limit set by state law.
After a hospital blood test, the pilot was booked into the Hennepin County jail. He was released later to airline personnel.
American Airlines, which owns American Eagle, said the 6 p.m. flight to LaGuardia Airport in New York left about two hours late, with 53 passengers on board. They said the pilot would not fly while they investigated the incident.
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