Former Newport Beach pilot gets year in prison for piloting commercial flight while under the influence of alcohol
A former Newport Beach captain who piloted an Alaska Airlines flight while under the influence of alcohol was sentenced Wednesday to one year and one day in federal prison.
Along with the time behind bars, U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney also ordered David Hans Arntson to pay a $60,000 fine, telling the former pilot that he engaged in “a very dangerous offense,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
As part of a plea deal, Arntson admitted that for much of his tenure as an airline captain he was an alcoholic, which, according to a court filing, led him to “pilot passenger airline flights while under the influence of alcohol.”
On June 20, 2014, Arntson piloted a pair of commercial flights, from San Diego International Airport to Portland, Ore, then from Portland to John Wayne Airport.
When he arrived in Orange County, Arntson was selected for a random drug-and-alcohol test by Alaska Airlines. A pair of breathalyzer tests showed he had a blood-alcohol concentration of .132 and .142 percent, well over the federal limit of .04 for pilots.
Prosecutors said Arntson immediately drove home after the tests, despite having a blood alcohol content above the legal limit to drive a car. They also allege Arntson later falsely claimed to a federal Department of Transportation agent that he was only a social drinker and only consumed “a few sips of beer” during dinner the night before the June 20 flights.
Arntson quit his job before he could be fired for failing the alcohol test. Alaska Airlines officials at the time said that prior to the test he had an unblemished 31-year career with the carrier.
However, according to a sentencing brief filed by prosecutors, five years before the failed test the “chief pilot” for Alaska Airlines received a call from someone he knew who was concerned about Arntson’s “drinking problem.” According to prosecutors, another pilot then informed Arntson about an available alcohol treatment program.
“It is readily apparent that defendant, while suffering from alcoholism, concealed his disease from Alaska Airlines, the FAA and from various health care providers, and that during this time, defendant piloted airline passenger flights,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Dennis Mitchell wrote.
Arntson’s attorneys in their own sentencing brief indicated that their client’s excessive drinking over the years had rotted his liver and left him with cirrhosis. As a result, the attorneys wrote, Arntson could not physically process alcohol the way his body used to, and didn’t feel impaired while flying.
“After initially minimizing the seriousness of his alcohol addiction, Mr. Arntson has freely admitted his unlawful conduct and has fully accepted responsibility for his actions,” Attorney Alexander Merton wrote.