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.

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.

A Southwest Airlines pilot was removed from the cockpit ahead of a Wednesday flight from Georgia to Chicago and was booked on a charge of driving under the influence, a source familiar with the incident told CBS News.