A Southwest Airlines pilot from New Hampshire was arrested in Georgia Wednesday, removed from the cockpit of a plane that was getting ready to take off.

David Paul Allsop, 52, of Bedford, New Hampshire, was booked into jail and charged with driving under the influence.

Police said when they asked Allsop when his last drink was, Allsop allegedly said “last night, a few light beers.”

Passengers said they were getting ready to take of from Savannah when the plane stopped and police boarded the aircraft.

“[The officer] went into the cockpit,” passenger Robert Newmerch recounted. “He walked back out of the plane, came back a couple minutes later, and the pilot left with him.”

A spokesperson for the TSA said an officer at the Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport noticed a man who smelled of alcohol and appeared intoxicated going through the crew screening lane. The TSA officer then called local police.

“TSA always promotes if you see something, say something. That is exactly what our Transportation Security Officer at ‘SAV’ did when they saw something out of the norm,” the TSA spokesperson said.

Southwest Airlines said that Allsop has been removed from his role.

“We’re aware of a situation involving an Employee on Flight 3772 Wednesday from Savannah,” a Southwest spokesperson said in a statement. “The Employee has been removed from duty. Customers were accommodated on other flights, and we apologize for the disruption to their travel plans. There’s nothing more important to Southwest than the Safety of our Employees and Customers.”

“My shoes are coming off,” Newmerch said. “How is a pilot getting through anywhere with any type of alcohol in his system whatsoever?”

Krystina Langan said her parents were aboard the canceled flight.

“My dad said he saw the pilot when they escorted him off and his face was really red,” said Langan. “He looked kind of disoriented.”

“I got kind of emotional because I just saw my mom the night before, I gave her some dresses to wear and I didn’t hug her goodbye,” Langan continued. “And when all this is happening, she could have taken off and I have to describe to my son… Sorry, [I] don’t know why I’m so emotional right now…”

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