MIAMI, July 3 (UPI) -- Two America West pilots charged in Miami with operating an airplane under the influence of alcohol have been told they will be fired.
An airline spokeswoman at the carrier's headquarters in Phoenix said Thomas Cloyd and Christopher Hughes will have an opportunity to appeal their dismissal through their union.
"We sent them a letter informing them of our intention to terminate them. Under the collective bargaining agreement there is a process they go through that is under way," said spokeswoman Patty Nowack.
While the Air Line Pilots Association and the airline process the preliminaries of the appeal, the pilots remain on leave with pay.
Cloyd and Hughes were arrested Monday after a security official at a checkpoint in Miami International Airport told them they couldn't take coffee onto the ramp. He said he smelled alcohol on their breath and called police.
The plane, carrying 124 passengers, had taxied out on the runway, but it was brought back and Cloyd and Hughes took Breathalyzer tests, registering levels above the .08 state limit for driving and double the Federal Aviation Administration limit for flying a jetliner.
Cloyd, 44, and Hughes, 41, of Gilbert, Ariz., both face possible prison time if they are convicted. They are charged with one felony each, and two misdemeanors.
Police records show it was Cloyd's fourth arrest on alcohol-related charges, but the airline said it knew nothing about any of the incidents.
He was arrested in 2000 by Chandler, Ariz., police on disorderly conduct charges. His ex-wife called police in 1998 during a scuffle and NBC News has reported Cloyd was convicted of driving under the influence in Midland, Texas, in 1986.
The two men are free on $7,000 bond each. Their arraignment is set for July 22.
Jerry Snyder, a spokesman for the FAA, said nine commercial pilots tested positive for alcohol in each of the last two years. About 1,800 pilots underwent random testing. He said seven have tested positive so far this year.
"We think it is always a serious problem when a pilot has a drug or alcohol-abuse problem. Do we think it is pervasive? No. It's not typical," Snyder said.
