A Southwest Airlines pilot was arrested shortly before takeoff on Wednesday in Georgia after he allegedly showed up to work intoxicated, police say.

New Hampshire resident David Allsop, 52, was arrested at Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport at around 7 a.m. on Wednesday, according to the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office. He was charged with driving under the influence.

Allsop was apprehended just before Southwest Flight 3772, bound for Chicago, was about to leave Georgia. It departed shortly before 11 a.m., nearly four hours after it was scheduled to takeoff.

Southwest told Fox News Digital that it was looking into the incident and that Allsop, whose LinkedIn profile states that he is a pilot, has been “removed from duty.”

David Allsop was arrested on Wednesday morning, Georgia authorities say. (Chatham County Sheriff’s Office)

It is rare, but not unheard of, for a pilot to be arrested or apprehended for excessively drinking before a flight. Last May, Japan Airlines grounded a flight from Dallas to Tokyo after it was discovered that a pilot drank excessively the night before.

Although the pilot did not violate the internal guidelines against drinking within 12 hours of departure, Japan Airlines canceled the flight in order to “assess the captain’s physical and mental well-being.”

A Southwest Airlines passenger jet lands at Chicago Midway International Airport. (Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images)

Authorities are actively investigating the incident.

Fox News Digital’s Christina Coulter, David Lewkowict and Chip Bell contributed to this report.