Alcohol and flying airplanes simply don’t mix. A drunk pilot can be a danger to themselves, passengers, and bystanders on the ground. Mercifully, though, the air traffic control staff at a Colorado metro airport stopped a wayward and sloppy aviator before he could take off in his little single-engine airplane. 

Air traffic control at Rocky Mountain Metro Airport stopped a pilot who was so drunk, he couldn’t communicate on the radio

Rocky Mountain Metro Airport (KBJC) is a far cry from travel machines like Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. But that doesn’t stop KBJC from being the third busiest airport in Colorado. An average of 718 takeoffs and landings happen every day at the metro airport. As such, air traffic control has to be on it.

And on it they were when a drunk pilot attempted to taxi and take off at KBJC’s 3-0-R runway. The controller on the radio noticed something was wrong after talking to the pilot of the small, single-engine 1964 Mooney airplane, callsign N7828V. “Which runway would you like?” the controller asked the little propeller plane. “3-8-0 is fine,” the pilot responded, instantly raising eyebrows at air traffic control. 

“We don’t have a 3-8-0. Which runway would you like?” the controller asked again. “3-0 is correct if at all possible,” the pilot amended. At this point, the air traffic controller continued giving instructions to the pilot. However, after the pilot continued slurring his speech, he concluded that something was indeed wrong.

Shrewdly, air traffic control at KBJC asked for the pilot’s callsign. Now, every pilot with their head screwed on straight can spout off their callsign and talk to ATC without difficulty. But this pilot couldn’t seem to produce his own callsign or even get the word “taxi” correct, for that matter. 

“N28V, are you familiar with the airport or have an instructor on board?” the controller asked. The pilot’s response was less than confidence-inspiring. “28V is somewhat of value at the airport, over,” he responded to the controller. But the ATC had had enough.

“Go ahead and shut down your engine,” the controller commanded. “Airport wanted to talk to you real quick. They’re almost out to you.” When a sheriff’s deputy got to the pilot of the single-engine airplane, they found the aviator drunk behind the controls. So much so that he couldn’t complete a standardized field sobriety test. Worse yet, after testing, the pilot had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) five times the legal limit for drivers in Colorado.