ATC calls police to meet A/C because FO 'sounded drunk'
The title says it all, but hear is what our company communicated to us about the incident:
You may have heard of an incident in Portland on Monday the 22nd involving allegations of impairment of one of our pilots. Here are some facts:
The FAA noted some irregularities in radio communication and contacted the airline.
Before we could evaluate this information or respond, the FAA elected to conduct, via the Port Police, an interview and evaluation on their own. For reasons unknown, this was conducted in the crew lounge, in full public view, without any presumption of innocence or regard for the pilot's reputation.
We need to let you know that the allegations were found to be groundless and that the pilot remains on flying status and under no suspicion by the airline.
Please help us squelch any rumors and continue to presume the best of our pilots.
What's next? A breathalyzer every 5 minutes in the cockpit? My guess is that the crew and the ATC had some disagreement/conflict and the controller was out to exact some revenge.
Anybody else ever hear of anything similar (based solely on radio exchanges)?