Humble man was one of 2 pilots suspected of being drunk before United flight to US
SCOTLAND (KTRK) -- Police and airline officials say two United Airlines pilots have been arrested for suspected intoxication before they were to fly 141 passengers from Scotland to the United States. Both pilots are grounded, they are in a lot of trouble, and one of them is from the Houston area.
The United Airlines flight was supposed to leave Saturday from Glasgow Scotland bound for Newark, New Jersey.
It took off 10 hours later after scheduled pilots Paul Grebenc of Mississippi and Carlos Licona of Humble were pulled from the flight, accused of being drunk.
The Police Service of Scotland said both men were arraigned Monday at a court in Paisley, a Glasgow suburb, to face charges connected to Britain's transport safety laws.
Carlos Roberto Licona, 45, of Humble, did not enter a plea, and has been released on bail. Paul Brady Grebenc, 35, of Columbus, Mississippi, also did not enter a plea and was released on bail.
United Airlines issued a statement to Eyewitness News, which reads in part:
"The two pilots have been removed from service and their flying duties. We are cooperating with the authorities and will conduct our own investigation as well. The safety of our customers and crew is our highest priority."
Eyewitness News stopped by Licona's home and nobody answered. But on his LinkedIn social media page, the 36 year old wrote, "He's a first officer on the 757 and 767 --- has been since 2014 --- and prior to that flew for Colgan Air for eleven years." He's also in the air national guard.
Saturday's arrests come barely a month after two Canadian pilots of an Air Transat plane were arrested at Glasgow Airport and charged with trying to fly while intoxicated.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report)
