GROUNDED

Spirit Airlines Pilot Arrested at Airport Over Dark Charges

The charges are understood to relate to persons aged around 12 and 17

A Spirit Airlines pilot has been arrested by law enforcement at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. Dominic A Cipolla, 40, was “removed from duty” by the Florida-based budget carrier at work in Louisiana after he was charged with stalking two people thought to be around 12 and 17 years old, in a July 11 criminal complaint. Records from Johnson County Courthouse in Olathe, Kansas, seen by The Guardian, are reportedly sparse in information, although the arrest is understood to have taken place on July 17, with Cipolla listed as a resident of Kansas City, Missouri. He is understood to have been held locally before posting a $12,500 bond with an initial court appearance penciled in for August 12. In a statement to the Daily Beast, a spokesperson for Spirit said: “We are aware of a matter involving a Pilot at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, which was unrelated to the performance of their job duties. The Pilot was removed from duty pending our investigation into the matter, and we arranged for another Pilot to operate the flight.”