3 Pilots Arrested on Suspicion of Drinking
Three Northwest Airlines pilots were arrested on suspicion of being under the influence of alcohol after they landed a commercial flight from Fargo, N.D., here Thursday, airport police said.
The three arrested were the captain, first officer and second officer in charge of Flight 650, which left Fargo at 6 a.m. and arrived in the Twin Cities about 7 a.m., authorities said.
Douglas Solseth, a Federal Aviation Administration safety inspector, reported to police that he suspected that the crew was under the influence of alcohol.
Sgt. Larry Cuffe of the airport police said the three pilots, identified as Capt. Robert Prouse, 51, of Conyers, Ga.; First Officer Robert Kirchner, 35, of Highland Ranch, Colo., and Second Officer Joseph Balzer, 34, of Antioch, Tenn., voluntarily provided blood samples to investigators and were released.
Alan Muncaster, an airline spokesman, said the results of the tests will not be known for several days. “Until we have those results, the pilots have been removed from service,” Muncaster said.
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