A Delta Air Lines pilot has been charged with operating an aircraft under the influence of alcohol.
The criminal complaint against Gabriel Schroeder, of Rosemount, Minnesota, says tests determined the 37-year-old had a blood alcohol level between 0.04% and 0.08% when detectives arrested him on a plane at the Minneapolis airport, just as it started boarding for San Diego July 20. The limit set by the Federal Aviation Administration is 0.04%, which is half the legal limit for driving in Minnesota.
Schroeder was charged Friday. His first court date is Nov. 27. Court records don't list an attorney who could comment for him.
The complaint says Schroeder told detectives that he'd had one beer and three vodka drinks the night before. He also admitted discarding an unopened vodka bottle investigators found in an airport bathroom after he saw that security screening for crews had been stepped up.