Gabriel Lyle Schroeder is the former Delta Air Lines first officer who was pulled from the cockpit of a San Diego-bound flight at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on July 30, 2019, after TSA screening prompted a police response and testing showed he was over the federal alcohol limit for flight crew. He pleaded guilty in October 2020 to a gross misdemeanor and was sentenced to 30 days split between jail and home detention.
What Happened at Minneapolis-St. Paul
Schroeder, then 37 and living in Rosemount, Minnesota, arrived at MSP the morning of July 30, 2019, assigned as first officer on an Airbus A321 operating Delta Flight 1728 to San Diego.1KSTP. Delta Pilot From Rosemount Who Was Arrested for Intoxication Before Flight Sentenced Around 10:30 a.m. he joined the crew screening line. When TSA agents began additional screenings, he stepped out, telling officers he “was not ready.”2ABC News. Video Shows Delta Pilot Charged With Flying Intoxicated at Arrest TSA flagged the behavior and called airport police.
Surveillance video showed him leaving the screening area, going into a restroom, and returning a few minutes later.3Fox 5 Atlanta. New Video Release of Delta Pilot Accused of Alcohol Violation Officers later found an unopened 1.75-liter bottle of Phillips vodka in a restroom trash container. Schroeder acknowledged to detectives that the bottle was his and said he had discarded it after noticing crew screenings “had been stepped up.”2ABC News. Video Shows Delta Pilot Charged With Flying Intoxicated at Arrest
By the time detectives caught up with him, he was already in the first officer’s seat at Gate G-3, working the console and speaking with the captain. Two passengers had started boarding. Officers reported “a light odor of a consumed alcoholic beverage” on his breath. Schroeder first said his last drink had been three days earlier. Pressed further, he told officers he had drunk a can of beer and three vodka drinks at home the night before.2ABC News. Video Shows Delta Pilot Charged With Flying Intoxicated at Arrest
He was removed from the aircraft, and the passengers who had boarded were deplaned. Flight 1728 eventually left at 12:23 p.m. with a replacement first officer.4Fox 5 New York. Suspected Drunken Delta Pilot Arrested at MSP Before Flight to San Diego
The BAC Evidence
A preliminary breath test at the scene put Schroeder’s blood alcohol concentration at .065. The FAA limit for flight crew is .04.1KSTP. Delta Pilot From Rosemount Who Was Arrested for Intoxication Before Flight Sentenced A blood draw taken at 1:10 p.m. read .027 as his body metabolized the alcohol. Working backward, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension estimated his ethanol concentration was between .04 and .08 while he was in the cockpit.2ABC News. Video Shows Delta Pilot Charged With Flying Intoxicated at Arrest
Federal rules at 14 CFR § 91.17 bar anyone from acting or attempting to act as a crewmember with an alcohol concentration of .04 or more, or within eight hours of drinking.5Cornell Law Institute. 14 CFR § 91.17 – Alcohol or Drugs The retrograde estimate placed Schroeder at or above that threshold during the time he was preparing to fly.
The Charge and Sentence
Prosecutors charged Schroeder on August 30, 2019, under Minnesota Statute § 360.0752, which makes it a crime to operate or attempt to operate an aircraft while under the influence or with an alcohol concentration of .04 or more.6Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statute § 360.0752 The impairment offense is a gross misdemeanor carrying up to 364 days in jail and a fine of up to $3,000.7Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statute § 169A.03 – Definitions
On October 27, 2020, Schroeder pleaded guilty to that gross misdemeanor charge in Hennepin County District Court.8Star Tribune. Delta Pilot Sentenced for Nearly Flying Plane From MSP While Under Influence of Alcohol The court sentenced him to 30 days, one weekend to be served in jail and the balance on home detention with electronic monitoring and work-release eligibility. Another 335 days were stayed for two years on the condition that he complete alcohol treatment, attend return-to-work meetings with his employer, submit to random alcohol and drug testing required by his employer or the FAA, and avoid any further alcohol or drug offenses.9CBS News Minnesota. Delta Air Lines Pilot Sentenced for Drinking Alcohol Before Flight
What It Cost Him Professionally
Delta pulled Schroeder from flying duties right after the arrest.10MPR News. Delta Air Lines Pilot Charged With Alcohol Violation The airline said in a statement, “Delta’s alcohol policy is among the strictest in the industry and we have no tolerance for violation.”11CBS News. Delta Pilot Gabriel Schroeder Arrested Failing Sobriety Test at MSP Airport Delta did not publicly say whether he was fired or kept on in a non-flying role. The sentencing conditions referencing return-to-work meetings and employer-administered testing suggest some employment relationship remained at the time of his plea.
The federal side is harsher than the state case. Under FAA practice, commercial pilots who violate 14 CFR § 91.17 or drug and alcohol testing rules are typically hit with an emergency order revoking both the airman certificate and the airman medical certificate.12Federal Register. Settlement Policy for Commercial Pilots in Drug and Alcohol Testing Cases Under a 2018 settlement policy for first-time violators, an eligible pilot can resolve the case quickly, but the outcome is still revocation of all certificates, with a minimum one-year wait before reapplying.13FAA. Settlement Policy for Commercial Pilots Whether Schroeder pursued reinstatement has not been publicly reported.