Pilot refused blood test before DUI arrest at Savannah/Hilton Head airport, police say
The pilot at Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport who was removed from the cockpit and charged with driving under the influence before a flight Wednesday morning admitted to drinking “light beers” the night before and reportedly refused to take a blood test that would determine alcohol content. He failed all three field sobriety tests and now faces a misdemeanor offense of DUI.
Additional details about 52-year-old Southwest Airlines pilot David Allsop, of Beford, New Hampshire, who was detained on a jet bridge at the airport, have been revealed through a police report provided by airport staff.
At about 6:00 a.m. Wednesday, just five minutes before the flight to Chicago Midway International Airport was scheduled to take off, an officer from the Savannah/Hilton Head Airport Police Department responded to the boarding gate. He had been notified that a pilot was suspected of being under the influence of alcohol during crew member check-in, the report says. The airport police ultimately report to the facility’s executive director, according to airport spokesperson Lori Lynah.
When the officer arrived, Allsop was sitting in the cockpit performing pre-flight checks. The officer asked Allsop to step onto the jet bridge, where the officer reportedly observed a strong odor of what he believed to be alcohol. Allsop also had “bloodshot, watery eyes and a flushed complexion,” the officer noted.
Asked when he had consumed his last drink, Allsop told the officer he drank “a few light beers” the night before. The pilot attributed the odor to nicotine pouches.
Three field sobriety tests were then conducted on the jet bridge. Allsop did not pass the tests and declined to take a blood test, according to the report. Because of this, the officer detained Allsop. The incident report says he was arrested for DUI less safe, a charge in the state of Georgia that implies a driver is less safe to drive as a result of consuming alcohol relative to not having any.
Another officer searched Allsop for contraband, but nothing was found, according to the incident report.
A Southwest Airlines manager arrived at the gate and asked about conducting their own tests and investigation. Additional Southwest employees, including the manager of the drug and alcohol team, requested that the airport police release Allsop to carry out their own investigation.
Allsop was instead released into police custody and booked at the Chatham County Detention Center. His bond was set at $3,500.
The Wednesday morning flight to Chicago was delayed nearly five hours because of the arrest. Some passengers were transferred to different planes as the airline searched for a new pilot.
Reached for comment, a Southwest spokesperson said that Allsop had been “removed from duty” following his arrest. He piloted for the airline for nearly 20 years and before then flew in squadrons for the U.S. Air Force, according to his LinkedIn profile.
A spokesperson from the Federal Aviation Administration shared that agency regulations prohibit pilots from using alcohol while on duty, while flying or while attempting to fly an aircraft within eight hours of consuming alcohol. Pilots are also not permitted to fly with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.04% or greater.
As of Friday morning, it was unclear which agency would lead the DUI investigation or whether Allsop had been released from the Chatham County Detention Center.
This story was originally published January 17, 2025 at 11:44 AM.
