Alleged intoxicated pilot taken from plane

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MINNEAPOLIS, Jan. 4 (UPI) -- An airline pilot was removed from his plane after allegedly failing a preliminary alcohol breath test in Minneapolis, an airport spokesman said.

The unidentified American Airlines captain was removed from the aircraft and arrested on suspicion of being under the influence of alcohol Friday morning after "someone believed his breath smelled of alcohol," Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport spokesman Patrick Hogan said.

Airport police boarded the plane at 6:19 a.m. as the pilot was making pre-flight checks and administered a preliminary alcohol breath test. After the pilot failed the test he was taken to a hospital for a blood-alcohol test, Hogan said, adding he hadn't received information on the pilot's specific level of intoxication.

For pilots, the legal blood-alcohol limit is 0.04, half of what it is for Minnesota motorists, the Star Tribune newspaper in Minneapolis said.