Local police arrested a Southwest Airlines pilot almost immediately before he flew from Savannah to Chicago on January 16, 2025.

A TSA officer at Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport contacted law enforcement after “encountering an individual in the crew screening lane who smelled of alcohol and appeared intoxicated.” The 52-year-old pilot was arrested by the airport police, Chatham County Sheriff’s Office records show. He was later released on a $3,500 bond.

Southwest Pilot Charged With DUI

The pilot “was seated in the cockpit performing preflight checks” when the police asked him to step out onto the jet bridge for questioning, the incident report said. He admitted to drinking a “few light beers” the night before, according to the incident report.

A responding police officer administered several field sobriety tests. He wrote in his report that the pilot could not maintain his balance and was unable to follow a pen with his eyes. When he refused to take a blood test, he was formally arrested and transported to the Chatham County Detention Center, according to the report.

Airport Crimes and Jurisdictional Issues

Most airports have three areas: publicly accessible areas, limited access areas, and ticket passenger-only areas.

Most airports also have security personnel. These security personnel are like store detectives. They have the power to arrest, which really means forcibly detain, suspects, if:

Ordinary people have these same rights, regardless of citizenship, as long as the individual has “reasonable and probable grounds of suspicion,” a phrase the law does not define.

As for actual law enforcement, local police, including county sheriffs, usually have exclusive jurisdiction over publicly accessible areas, even if a person commits a terroristic threat or other such offense. Federal officials often immediately assume jurisdiction over these matters after the defendant is in custody.

This exclusive jurisdiction usually extends to limited access areas, which is any part of an airport past the Homeland Security check-in station. “Limited access” also refers to airplanes connected to a terminal with their doors open.

Once the doors close, even if the plane is still on the ground, any criminal offense on that airplane is a federal offense from the start. Air marshals are on some airplanes. Other times, federal law enforcement officers will give the defendant an unwelcome greeting when the airplane’s doors open.

Passenger Exclusion from Commercial Flights

While we’re on this topic, we should also address a question we hear too frequently. What can happen to me if I misbehave on a flight?

Most carriers use the “one strike and you’re out” rule, which the Supreme Court approved about two hundred years ago.

Passengers occasionally cause disturbances aboard airplanes and other common carriers, like ships and trains. Alcohol is usually involved in these situations. Typically, the carrier may dismiss an unruly passenger from a flight without compensation. That could include making an emergency landing and forcing the passenger to de-plane. If the passenger refuses to do so, s/he could face trespassing or other charges.

If similar conduct occurs again, the carrier usually places the passenger on the no-fly list. This list is generally nonbinding and nontransferable. If Peter is on the Delta no-fly list, he can usually fly Southwest or any other carrier.

This no-fly list is different from the controversial terrorist activity no-fly list. The Department of Homeland Security compiles this list behind closed doors. No one knows who is on the list or why they are (or aren’t) on the list. Additionally, the airline usually doesn’t disclose the reason that the person cannot board the plane.

If you are denied boarding on a flight, and you believe it’s because you’re on the terrorism no-fly list, you can petition the Traveler Redress Inquiry Program (TRIP), which forwards complaints and any supporting information to the Terrorist Screening Center (TSC), which determines whether any action should be taken.

Citizens and lawful permanent residents then receive a letter regarding your status on the no-fly list. Upon further request, TRIP usually reveals the general criterion under which you have been placed on the no-fly list, possibly including an unclassified summary of the reasons for inclusion on the list.

However, the government’s summary likely does not include all of its reasons for placement on the list, and in some cases the government may refuse to provide a summary. Additionally, hearings are unavailable.

Individuals may object to their inclusion on the no-fly list in writing, but there’s a good possibility that objection will fall on deaf ears.

Informer Tips

Most DUIs are plain view offenses. The arresting officer witnessed the criminal conduct from start to finish. Informer tips add an additional layer to an already complex case.

A Marietta criminal defense attorney often challenges the reliability of the informer’s tip. There’s a difference between reliability and accuracy. If the tip was unreliable, the arrest was illegal, and the case falls apart like a house of cards.

Almost all informants have mixed motives. Paid informants are the best example. Usually, police officers offer informants money or leniency in another matter. Many people will say almost anything to claim such rewards. Unpaid informants are often focused on getting the defendant in trouble, not on protecting people.

The compensation agreement, if any, is definitely relevant in reliability challenges. The informant’s relationship with the defendant, if any, is admissible as well, as is any information about something the informant might gain if the defendant gets in trouble.

A Marietta criminal defense attorney doesn’t need to “prove” the informant was unreliable. An attorney must simply create a reasonable doubt as to the informant’s reliability. The factfinder, usually the jury in a trial, then determines reliability.

Proving DUIs in Court

It’s unclear whether this pilot was charged with flying a plane while intoxicated or driving while intoxicated the previous night. Under state and federal law, either charge could hold up in court.

The law generally defines “driving,” or flying or boating or walking or whatever, as “operating” a vehicle. A pilot at the controls is flying a motionless plane, just like a person behind the wheel is driving a motionless car or truck.

In fact, under the double jeopardy clause, this pilot could face both state and federal DUI charges. Driving a vehicle under the influence of alcohol is a state offense, and flying an airplane under the influence of alcohol is a federal offense. However, since the elements of these two offenses are almost identical, a Marietta criminal defense lawyer can probably get one of them thrown out of court, unless the separate sovereignties exception applies. But that’s the subject of another blog.

All criminal cases are very complex. For a free consultation with an experienced Marietta criminal defense lawyer, contact The Phillips Law Firm, LLC. Virtual, home, and jail visits are available.