Pilot’s rant cancels flight, officials say

A Northwest Airlines flight from Las Vegas to Detroit was canceled after authorities said a pilot was yelling obscenities on a mobile phone as passengers boarded.

Las Vegas police responded after being called at McCarran International Airport about the pilot Friday, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said Saturday.

The pilot apparently was in a heated phone conversation in the cockpit, then went into a lavatory, where he locked the door and continued the conversation as passengers boarded, Gregor said. "Passengers who were boarding the aircraft could hear his end of it," he said.

Authorities were told that the pilot, when confronted by a passenger, cursed at the passenger, Gregor said.

There were 180 passengers and five crew on the flight to Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Romulus, Mich., Northwest Airlines Corp. said in a statement.

The name of the captain, who Gregor said was a veteran pilot, wasn't released.

Gregor said Northwest removed the pilot from the flight to return him to his home base in Detroit for an investigation.

Northwest issued an apology to passengers and said the incident was under review.