Nation In Brief : FLORIDA : Engineer on Jet Flew Despite Cocaine Test

Eastern Airlines took no action against a flight engineer who tested positive for cocaine use until managers in Miami learned seven months later he had been charged with buying crack, the airline said. The test results apparently went unnoticed because of a clerical error, said Eastern spokeswoman Karen Ceremsak. Dain Schneemilch, 36, of Key Largo, Fla., was fired March 20, but the Air Line Pilots Assn. has filed a grievance to appeal the dismissal, she said. Schneemilch was attending ground school to become a co-pilot when he was arrested after allegedly buying cocaine from an undercover sheriff’s officer, Ceremsak said. He flew no airline flights as a co-pilot, she said. Schneemilch has pleaded innocent to the drug charges.