HOUSTON, Oct. 16 (UPI) -- A Continental Airlines pilot who was removed from the cockpit prior to leaving the gate at Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston tested positive for alcohol, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman said Wednesday.
The unidentified pilot was immediately pulled by the airline after he got into an argument with an air marshal aboard the Boeing 737-900, which was about to leave for Orlando, Fla., according to FAA spokesman John Clabes in Fort Worth, Texas.
"The pilot got onto the aircraft and got into a verbal confrontation with an air marshal and the air marshal called Continental Airlines and they immediately sent down the chief pilot and they jerked the crew off," he said.
Clabes said the pilot tested positive but the first officer did not and he is not involved.
They were taken off the plane, a new crew was assigned to the flight, and it departed 30 minutes late.
"Continental took very quick action," he said.
Clabes said Continental, which is based in Houston, conducted the blood test and he did not know how much alcohol the pilot had consumed. He said both the airline and the FAA are conducting investigations into the incident.
FAA rules prohibit flying under the influence, a blood alcohol content of .04 or more, or drinking within eight hours of a scheduled flight.
Continental said that 154 passengers were aboard Flight 1086 when the incident occurred.
