‘Drunk’ pilot stumbles through security to fly a plane with 154 passengers on board

An Indonesian pilot has been suspended after he was suspected of trying to fly a plane while he was “drunk”.

 

A pilot for Indonesian budget carrier, Citilink, has been suspended after turning up allegedly drunk for work before trying to fly a plane carrying 154 passengers. CCTV footage of the moment the pilot tried to pass through airport security at Juanda International Airport has emerged online (see video below).

 

Shockingly, the airport security staff did not prevent the pilot from proceeding to the plane. It was the passengers that became suspicious when they heard slurred words and unclear announcements from the cockpit. Many left the plane believing the pilot to be either drunk or under drug influence.

 

The flight on Wednesday was heading from Surabaya, Indonesia’s second-largest city, to the capital, Jakarta.

 

Citilink is a subsidiary of national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia. The airline’s President Director, Albert Burhan, announced Friday that he and the airline’s production director would resign over the impropriety.

 

In December last year, three crew members – a pilot and two flight attendants – were arrested for allegedly consuming crystal methamphetamine, known locally as shabu-shabu, at a hotel.