A pilot for United Airlines was arrested on Sunday morning in the cockpit of an aircraft only minutes before the plane was set to take-off with the suspicion that he was drunk. Hundreds of passengers watched while the police escorted the American first officer of 44 years old off of the plane. The flight was then delayed at the London Heathrow Airport for nearly 3 hours before departing for San Francisco while the airline located a replacement co-pilot.

One of the passengers said that they couldn’t believe they scene, the pilot being marched off of the plane. There were a couple of officers who stormed on the aircraft while they were waiting in their seats, the passenger continued, and headed right to the cockpit. None of them knew what was going on and had to wait for hours on the aircraft, the passenger added.

It is believed that the police officers moved after getting a tip from a member of the ground staff at the airport, who had suspicions that the pilot was drinking prior to the flight. A spokeswoman for the Metropolitan police confirmed that there were officers attending a plane at Terminal 1 at the London Heathrow Airport on Sunday at about 9 am. She added that the man was arrested and bailed to go back to the police station January 16^th pending further inquiries.

United Airlines said on Monday that the first officer was one out of 3 pilots scheduled to fly the aircraft to San Francisco. They also said that he has been taken out of service and they are conducting further investigation into the incident.

Get more information on United Airlines at: www.united.com