Julianne March United flight attendant for Air Wisconsin detained after public intoxication bout during recent passenger trip. BAC of 0.204- five times legal limit.
Also making her tabloid debut is boozed up United Express flight attendant Julianne March who caught the attention of passengers recently after observed stumbling, ‘all over the cabin.’
March, 49, of Waukesha, Wis., was charged Thursday by St. Joseph’s County prosecutors in connection with an Aug. 2 incident on a flight from Chicago to South Bend, the South Bend Tribune reported.
Passengers on the morning flight realized something wasn’t right with March, who was part of an Air Wisconsin crew working a United Express flight and the sole flight attendant.
‘Hey @united, our flight attendant appears to be quite drunk on this [flight] from from [sic] ORD to SBN,’ passenger Aaron Scherb tweeted. ‘She is slurring her speech (she couldn’t make it through the security announcement), couldn’t walk straight/was bumping into everyone in the aisle, and kept dropping things.’
According to Scherb, March fell asleep in the jump seat after takeoff, with passengers forced to fasten her seat belt. So much for bumpy rides.
Scherb also told of March, ‘kind of leaning against the galley and didn’t seem to be making eye with passengers while boarding, which seemed a little strange.’
Define strange? Define inappropriate? Define flight safety?
BAC 5 times the legal limit: ‘I had a couple of vodka shooters’.
Another passenger told ABC News that even the pilot wasn’t able to get in touch with March. He said the ‘whole plane … noticed something was wrong’ and that the attendant’s phone rang ‘multiple times without her answering’ it.
‘[That] to me was the most concerning part because the pilot wasn’t able to communicate with the lone flight attendant and took off anyway,’ the passenger said.
Which is to wonder how did March’s employer even let the drunk worker take her position prior to takeoff?
Upon the plane landing in South Bend, local officers boarded the plane – with one agent asking March which city she was in, only for her to respond Chicago, according to a criminal complaint.
The criminal complaint also noted passengers saying they, ‘felt scared for their lives based upon the apparent condition of Ms. March.’
But it gets grimmer.
March’s blood-alcohol level was recorded at 0.204 — five times the legal limit for flight attendants.
On her way to the St. Joseph County Jail, March reportedly told an officer she had two vodka ‘shooters’ before arriving to work that morning, according to the Tribune.
Air Wisconsin released a statement saying ‘the flight attendant was detained by authorities after a report of possible impairment.’
‘We are investigating the situation and fully cooperating with the local authorities,’ the regional airline said.
March was a probationary flight attendant who was only working a few months and was fired because she didn’t complete the probationary time period, a source told ABC News.
‘We expect our regional carriers to take appropriate action as required when issues like these happen with their employees,’ a United Airlines spokesperson told the network. ‘Legally and with regards to regulatory agencies this is an Air Wisconsin issue.’
March has since been charged with criminal public intoxication, a misdemeanor
She was released on her own recognizance, and an initial hearing is scheduled for Aug. 29. No word on what action the woman has taken to stem her drinking problem.
