Georgia (USA) - It must have been a nightmare for the passengers: just before the plane, in which they were already sitting, was about to take off, police officers suddenly stormed onto the plane. Shortly afterwards, the pilot of the plane was taken away. What had happened?

At 6:05 a.m., the Southwest Airlines plane was ready to take off from Savannah/Hilton Head Airport in Georgia for Chicago .

However, this was prevented by airport police officers who suddenly entered the plane and rushed towards the cockpit. Pilot David Allsop was dragged out of the cockpit before the stunned eyes of the passengers and taken out of the plane in handcuffs.

The 52-year-old is suspected of having been drunk while working as a pilot. As the US airline "Southwest Airlines" told Fox News , Allsop was "relieved of duty". The incident on flight 3772 from Savannah would now be investigated.

The rule in the USA is that pilots with a blood alcohol level above 0.04 are not allowed to fly an aircraft - the limit for motor vehicles is 0.08. Anyone who does not comply with this can lose their pilot's license.

It is not yet known what clues led to the arrest of David Allsop.

The flight to Chicago was delayed by several hours as a result of the incident and did not take off until around 11 am. The passengers on the plane involved were also rebooked on other flights.

The police are still investigating the case of the allegedly drunk pilot.