Wednesday July 16th, 2025 2:19AM

Pilot cleared of intoxication charge in Las Vegas wants job back

By The Associated Press
<p>A fired AirTran Airways pilot will seek his job back after prosecutors dropped charges that he was intoxicated on a passenger jet he was about to fly to Atlanta, his lawyer said Friday.</p><p>Oliver Paul Reason Jr. "wasn't in violation of the law," said his Las Vegas attorney, John Watkins. "I'm sure he'll seek his job back."</p><p>Clark County District Attorney David Roger said it would have been impossible for prosecutors to prove the charge of operating an aircraft under the influence.</p><p>Nevada state law doesn't specify a legal limit for blood-alcohol in pilots, Roger said, and Reason was arrested Jan. 12 in the galley _ not in the cockpit _ of the aircraft at a gate at McCarran International Airport.</p><p>Reason, 38, of Newnan, Ga., was taken into custody after a federal screener reported smelling alcohol on him and alerted police. The flight to Atlanta was canceled and its 60 passengers were booked on other flights.</p><p>Authorities reported a breath test measured Reason's blood-alcohol percentage above the 0.08 percent limit set for drivers in Nevada. Watkins said he would have challenged that test.</p><p>Roger said Reason passed a field sobriety test conducted by arresting officers, and blood drawn four hours later put his blood-alcohol content at 0.01.</p><p>Federal law prohibits pilots from flying if they have a blood-alcohol level of more than 0.04 percent, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Donn Walker said.</p><p>AirTran officials in Orlando, Fla., did not immediately respond Friday to requests for comment.</p>
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