United Airlines pilot charged with being drunk

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LONDON | Wed Nov 11, 2009 12:08pm EST

LONDON Nov 11 (Reuters) - A United Airlines UAUA.O pilot has been charged after being arrested at London's Heathrow Airport on suspicion of being drunk shortly before he was about to fly a transatlantic airliner, police said on Wednesday.

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

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.

Washington is due to appear before magistrates in north London on November 20. (Reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Matthew Jones)

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