Canada: “Drunk” pilot passes out with 99 passengers on board
A pilot was reported to have passed out in the cockpit of Boeing 737, and was arrested on suspicion of being drunk.
The incident reportedly happened in Canada.
The plane was said to have 99 passengers and six crew members on board and was headed to Regina, Winnipeg and then Mexico.
Police described the pilot, Miroslav Gronych, as “behaving oddly before he became unconscious in the cockpit” and had him charged with having control of an aircraft while impaired.
The affected airline apologised to passengers and commended the crew for swinging into action upon the “very unfortunate matter.”
“Dear Customers, we will like to take the opportunity to advise you of an incident that occurred earlier this morning,” the airline said in a statement.
“We can confirm that shortly before 7 a.m. local time, the gate agents, first officer and crew of Sunwing flight 595, departing from Calgary and destined for Cancun, determined that the Captain was unfit to fly and reported this accordingly.
“The Captain was immediately escorted off of the aircraft and the incident is now under investigation with local authorities.
“We are very appreciative of our crew’s diligence in handling this very unfortunate matter in accordance with procedures.
“We were able to secure a new Captain and are pleased to report that our customers are now en route to their destination after experiencing a minimal delay.
“We are very apologetic for any upset that this has caused and would like to assure our customers that safety remains our utmost priority”.
The 37-year-old pilot was replaced before the plane continued on its journey.
