NYC-bound pilot arrested on alcohol charge

MINNEAPOLIS -- An American Eagle pilot preparing for a flight to LaGuardia Airport on Friday morning was arrested on board an aircraft at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on suspicion of being under the influence of alcohol, an airport spokesman said.

"The pilot was in the process of doing the preflight check and a witness had smelled alcohol on the pilot's breath," spokesman Patrick Hogan said.

The man failed a breath test administered by airport police and was taken to a hospital for a blood alcohol test, Hogan said. Results of the blood test could take weeks. He did not know the results of the breath test.

The blood alcohol threshold for pilots is 0.04 under Federal Aviation Administration rules, about half of what it would be for a private motorist.

Airport police said in a statement that charges were pending against pilot Kolbjorn Jarle Kristiansen, 48, of Raleigh, N.C. He was released to airline personnel on his own recognizance, police said.

Officers and a Transportation Security Administration agent at an airport checkpoint "detected the odor of a consumed alcohol beverage" as they passed Kristiansen, who was arrested just before 6 a.m., police said.

The pilot could not be reached immediately for comment. American Eagle, a regional carrier for AMR Corp.'s American Airlines, was operating the flight.

"We are cooperating with authorities and conducting a full internal investigation," American Eagle said in a statement. "The pilot will be withheld from service pending the outcome of the investigation."