FAA Says It Will Retrain Inspectors After Finding Jet Crew Was Drunk

A Northwest Airlines jet took off with a legally drunk cockpit crew while an inexperienced federal inspector was telephoning his supervisors to ask what to do, a Federal Aviation Administration official told Congress on Wednesday.

FAA inspectors will be retrained on agency policies so they can respond quickly to prevent a similar incident, Associate FAA Administrator Anthony Broderick said in testimony before the aviation subcommittee of the House Public Works Committee.

The FAA also will make sure airlines are notified immediately of allegations that flight crews have been drinking, Broderick said.

The Fargo, N.D., inspector could not smell alcohol on the breaths of any crew member and decided the three men did not appear intoxicated despite an anonymous tip that they had been drinking heavily the night before departure last Thursday, Broderick said.

The Boeing 727, carrying 91 passengers, left while the inspector was calling his supervisors to find out what he should do next, such as call the police, Broderick said.

FAA regulations require an inspector who believes that crew members have been drinking to call local police and arrange for alcohol tests.

The three-man crew was arrested upon arrival at Minneapolis-St. Paul by FAA inspectors. The agency revoked their licenses after tests showed more than 0.04% alcohol in the blood, the federal limit for flying.