United Airlines pilot arrested

A United Airlines pilot has been charged after being arrested at Heathrow Airport on suspicion of being drunk shortly before he was about to fly a trans-atlantic airliner, police said yesterday.

Erwin Washington, 51, from Lakewood, Colorado, was charged with "being aviation staff, performing an aviation function while exceeding the proscribed alcohol limit," a London police spokesman said.

Mr Washington was arrested on Monday shortly before he was due to fly a Boeing 767 with 124 passengers and 11 crew to Chicago.

United, a unit of UAL Corp, said he had been suspended pending a full investigation.

"United's alcohol policy is among the strictest in the industry, and we have no tolerance for violation of this well-established policy," a spokeswoman said.