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John Daley ReportingFederal authorities say it was almost a case of "flying while intoxicated." A Southwest Airlines co-pilot was arrested at Salt Lake International just minutes before takeoff, after security screeners smelled alcohol on his breath.
As one official tells us, this kind of thing doesn't happen too often, but one time is probably too many considering the consequences.
This morning, Southwest Flight 135 was scheduled to fly from Salt Lake to Phoenix, leaving at 8 a.m. with 123 passengers on board.
Forty-one-year-old first officer Carl Fulton arrived at the airport about 7:30. As he was going through security, Transportation Safety Administration screeners smelled alcohol on his breath. Not sure if he was flying or not, agents followed him to the plane where he got on and into the cockpit.
The FBI and airport police were notified and Fulton was then asked to get off the plane. FBI spokesman Patrick Kiernan says he was cooperative and was then taken to the airport police office, interviewed and given a breathalizer test.
Kiernan says Fulton's blood alcohol level exceeded the federal limit of .04, though the agency declined to give us the precise number.
Carl Fulton is from Fort Worth Texas and has a two-year history with Southwest and no previous record of any problems before. He is now the county jail, scheduled to be arraigned tomorrow.
He'll be charged with operating a common carrier under the influence of alcohol or drugs, which, if convicted, has a penalty of up to 15 years in jail, a fine or both.
The FBI is commending screeners with TSA for their alertness. That Southwest Flight was delayed just 15 minutes.
