HOUSTON, Oct. 18 (UPI) -- Continental Airlines has fired a pilot who federal officials say tested positive for alcohol after he was removed from a flight awaiting takeoff in Houston, a company spokesman said Friday.
The 15-year veteran based in Newark, N.J., was not identified by the company and Continental spokesman Jeff Ewalt said he could not release other details.
"Continental has a zero tolerance policy for substance abuse," he said.
The pilot was removed from a Boeing 737-900 on Tuesday afternoon as he prepared to leave the gate at Bush Intercontinental Airport for Orlando, Fla., according to Federal Aviation Administration 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 and the first officer did not and he was not involved. They were taken off the plane, a new crew was assigned to the flight, and it departed 30 minutes late with 154 passengers board.
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, with a blood alcohol content of .04 or more, or drinking within eight hours of a scheduled flight.
