Omni Pilot Suspected In DUI, Car Theft In SEA
#1
Omni Pilot Suspected In DUI, Car Theft In SEA
From Seattle Times:
A 43-year-old pilot for Omni Air International, a charter airline out of Tulsa, Okla., was arrested Saturday night at a WallyPark in SeaTac on suspicion of car theft and DUI, hours before he was scheduled to fly a commercial plane from Seattle to Japan on Sunday morning, said the King County Sheriff's Office.
When contacted about the arrest, Jeff Crippen, president and CEO of the airline, said, "Wow. I don't have the full report. What we'll do is do a thorough investigation into the charges and go from there. That's all we can do. I can't comment on anything else."
According to the Sheriff's Office, the incident began at the parking lot of the Hilton Seattle Airport & Conference Center when a 66-year-old Bainbridge Island man said he got into his rental car at the Hilton and the pilot got into his back seat.
The report said the victim asked the pilot what he was doing in his car, and the pilot replied, "You know, you know."
The report said there then was "a brief exchange of words" and the Bainbridge Island man pointed a handgun at the pilot and told him to get out.
"A struggle ensued and the victim struck the suspect several times with the handgun. The victim got out of the car, and the suspect chased him around the car. The suspect then got into the driver's seat and fled in the victim's car," said the report.
SeaTac police, who are contracted by the Sheriff's Office to patrol that area, were called around 8:40 p.m., the report said.
The Sheriff's Office said that employees at the WallyPark, which is next to the Hilton, called to report "a suspicious, bloody male in the parking lot. When police arrived they found the suspect and the victim's car."
The pilot, who is from Oklahoma, was arrested and booked into King County Jail, the report said. He was released without bail just before 6 p.m. Monday.
According to its website, Omni Air's fleet includes Boeing 767s and 777s that can carry 240 to 380 passengers.
According to Perry Cooper, spokesman for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, the flight was delayed 24 hours and took off for Japan at 7:30 Monday morning. He said it was listed as a Boeing 767-300.
The FAA said it was aware of the incident and investigating.
Seattle Times news researcher Gene Balk contributed.
Erik Lacitis: 206-464-2237 or [email protected]
A 43-year-old pilot for Omni Air International, a charter airline out of Tulsa, Okla., was arrested Saturday night at a WallyPark in SeaTac on suspicion of car theft and DUI, hours before he was scheduled to fly a commercial plane from Seattle to Japan on Sunday morning, said the King County Sheriff's Office.
When contacted about the arrest, Jeff Crippen, president and CEO of the airline, said, "Wow. I don't have the full report. What we'll do is do a thorough investigation into the charges and go from there. That's all we can do. I can't comment on anything else."
According to the Sheriff's Office, the incident began at the parking lot of the Hilton Seattle Airport & Conference Center when a 66-year-old Bainbridge Island man said he got into his rental car at the Hilton and the pilot got into his back seat.
The report said the victim asked the pilot what he was doing in his car, and the pilot replied, "You know, you know."
The report said there then was "a brief exchange of words" and the Bainbridge Island man pointed a handgun at the pilot and told him to get out.
"A struggle ensued and the victim struck the suspect several times with the handgun. The victim got out of the car, and the suspect chased him around the car. The suspect then got into the driver's seat and fled in the victim's car," said the report.
SeaTac police, who are contracted by the Sheriff's Office to patrol that area, were called around 8:40 p.m., the report said.
The Sheriff's Office said that employees at the WallyPark, which is next to the Hilton, called to report "a suspicious, bloody male in the parking lot. When police arrived they found the suspect and the victim's car."
The pilot, who is from Oklahoma, was arrested and booked into King County Jail, the report said. He was released without bail just before 6 p.m. Monday.
According to its website, Omni Air's fleet includes Boeing 767s and 777s that can carry 240 to 380 passengers.
According to Perry Cooper, spokesman for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, the flight was delayed 24 hours and took off for Japan at 7:30 Monday morning. He said it was listed as a Boeing 767-300.
The FAA said it was aware of the incident and investigating.
Seattle Times news researcher Gene Balk contributed.
Erik Lacitis: 206-464-2237 or [email protected]
#3
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Oct 2011
Posts: 263
This reads like an article from the onion.... Only this is sad, not just funny... "you know, you know..."
#5
Why is it that anytime a pilot is a suspect in these cases, the sensationalist media loves to emphasize that he is a pilot for X company? Do you think that emphasis would be on occupation/place employment had this been a bus driver?
(rhetorical, no answer required)
(rhetorical, no answer required)
#8
Sounds like he got into a car thinking it was a cab. Imagine his surprise when the "cabby" pointed a gun at him, told him to get out then started pistol-whipping him. He's got no excuse for being so drunk he couldn't tell the difference between a cab and someone's private car, but everything that happened after he got out of the car sounds like normal drunk-guy trying to get away from a cabby with a gun, even to the point of taking the "cab" while drunk.
I don't know how far from takeoff he was and the the legality of having alcohol in his system at that particular time.
Sad story. Bad decisions compounded.
I don't know how far from takeoff he was and the the legality of having alcohol in his system at that particular time.
Sad story. Bad decisions compounded.
#9
On Reserve
Joined APC: May 2011
Position: 767 FO, CH-47 PI
Posts: 23
Omni Pilot
I know the pilot, and this behavior is uncharacteristic for them. Hopefully in time we will know what really happened.
#10
Line Holder
Joined APC: May 2012
Position: Boeing/Right
Posts: 61
Sounds like he got into a car thinking it was a cab. Imagine his surprise when the "cabby" pointed a gun at him, told him to get out then started pistol-whipping him. He's got no excuse for being so drunk he couldn't tell the difference between a cab and someone's private car, but everything that happened after he got out of the car sounds like normal drunk-guy trying to get away from a cabby with a gun, even to the point of taking the "cab" while drunk.
There is a lot of head-scratching going on amongst his colleagues; this is way far out of character for this man.
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