A Southwest Airlines pilot suspected of being drunk was removed from the cockpit and arrested just before takeoff Wednesday at a Georgia airport, according to airline officials and authorities in the state.

David Allsop, 52, is charged with driving under the influence, according to Chatham County Sheriff's office jail records.

Authorities say an airline pilot who seemed to smell like alcohol was making pre-flight checks in the cockpit when police arrested him on a DUI charge.