A Newark, New Jersey-bound flight from Scottland was canceled Saturday when the pilot who was meant to fly the United Airlines plane was instead placed in handcuffs after airport security found a taser in his bag.
The unidentified United employee, 56, was arrested and escorted out by Edinburg airport security by four armed police officers Saturday, a witness told Edinburgh Live.
The pilot, who is from the US, was charged with a firearms offense, as it is illegal in the UK to possess a taser.
His arrest left a lot of disgruntled passengers who were hoping to fly back to New Jersey that morning as the 9:25 a.m. flight was swiftly canceled.
It is unclear how many people were scheduled to take off on the flight, but the scheduled Boeing 757 can seat roughly 170 passengers.
United Airlines confirmed the pilot had been “removed from service.”
“This employee was immediately removed from service and we are fully cooperating with local authorities,” the airline told The Post Saturday.
Scotland Police also confirmed the pilot’s arrest, saying a report will be “submitted to the Procurator Fiscal,” which is the country’s public prosecutor’s office.
The pilot is scheduled to appear in Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Monday.
The arrest of the unnamed pilot comes after a flight attendant for a different American airline was arrested by the feds this week.
The American Airlines flight attendant was arrested for allegedly recording multiple young girls with a hidden camera in the restroom.
Estes Carter Thompson III, 36, was caught by a 14-year-old victim, which caused a federal probe against him. The investigation found videos of four victims — the youngest just 7 years old.
The videos contained footage of them using the restroom aboard the aircraft.
