On Tuesday, a Japan Airlines flight from Dallas to Tokyo was canceled after the captain got drunk at a hotel bar and received a warning from police. The Mainichi reported that the captain had dined with other crew members in Dallas before continuing to drink throughout the evening in the hotel lounge and his hotel room. At around 2 a.m., a hotel employee asked the group to quiet down, leading to the pilot’s disorderly conduct and a call to the police. The police questioned the captain and cautioned him not to cause any further issues.
The airline then made the decision to cancel the flight in order to assess the pilot’s physical and mental well-being. However, according to reports from FlightAware, Japan Airlines was unable to find a replacement pilot in time for Wednesday morning’s departure. As a result, the flight scheduled for 11:05 a.m. local time on Wednesday did not take off and all 157 passengers were transferred onto alternate flights by Japan Airlines.
While incidents of pilots reporting for duty under the influence are relatively rare, recent cases have brought attention to this issue within the industry. In March, Delta Air Lines Captain Kelly Marie Hloverak admitted to flying while over