LAKEWOOD, Colo. -- A United Airlines pilot from Lakewood who flunked a breathalyzer test allegedly barricaded himself in the cockpit for more than an hour before police talked him out, according to the London Daily Mail.

Scotland Yard said Erwin Vermont Washington, 51, was arrested after officers were called aboard United Airlines Flight 949, due to fly from London's Heathrow Airport to Chicago, around noon on Monday.

Washington has not responded to 7NEWS' repeated requests for comment.

In the Lakewood neighborhood where he lives with his wife and three children, neighbors described a quiet, seemingly happy family.

“Occasionally, you can hear people over there having a good time. That’s about it. Nothing crazy,” said neighbor Phil Syman.

Another neighbor, who did not wish to be named, said Washington was the best neighbor you could wish for, and that he felt sorry for his family.

A spokesman for the Scotland Yard said officers arrested Washington "on suspicion of being aviation staff performing an aviation function whilst exceeding the proscribed alcohol limit."

"I.e. he was suspected to be drunk," the spokesman said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Police and Heathrow officials said Washington was reported to authorities by another member of United's staff.

"The chief steward and the captain had an angry dispute over concerns he had been drinking," an unidentified source told The Sun newspaper. "All hell broke loose after he was arrested. People were furious."

CBS reported that crew members alerted authorities because Washington was "acting strangely in the cockpit" as the flight readied for takeoff. A member of the cabin crew who reported Washington to police said the pilot had allegedly barricaded himself in the cockpit for over an hour before police talked him out, the Daily Mail reported.

Washington is an Air Force veteran and was a star basketball player at the U.S. Air Force Academy near Colorado Springs from 1979 to 1983. He is ranked 24th in all-time scoring, 5th in assists and 4th in fouls.

A Heathrow spokesman said Monday's flight was due to leave at 12:05 p.m. and passengers were onboard the Boeing 767 when police boarded the aircraft at 12:30 p.m. Washington was given a breathalyzer test out of view of the passengers before being arrested, the spokesman said.

It was not immediately clear how much alcohol Washington was accused of having consumed. Under British law, pilots are forbidden from having any more than 20 micrograms of alcohol for each 100 milliliters of blood in their system, or .02 percent. For most average-sized men, that is the equivalent of having just had about half a glass of regular strength beer.

The Scotland Yard spokesman confirmed that the pilot had been given a breathalyzer test and that results were expected shortly. He said the man has been released on bail.

Washington was scheduled appear in court in London on Nov. 20. If convicted, he faces up to two years in prison, a fine, or both.

United Airlines spokeswoman Megan McCarthy said the pilot had been removed from service pending a full investigation. She said United has strict rules on alcohol. She said the flight was cancelled and the 124 passengers were transferred to other flights.

"United's alcohol policy is among the strictest in the industry and we have no tolerance for violation of this well-established policy," McCarthy said.

She declined to say how long Washington had worked for the airline.

Washington is the third U.S. pilot in 13 months to be arrested at Heathrow for being over the strict alcohol limits imposed on airline staff.

Monday's incident echoes the arrest in May of an American Airlines pilot — also at Heathrow and scheduled to fly a plane to Chicago -- after he failed a breath test.

In October 2008, another United Airlines pilot was arrested by police for being over the alcohol limit. The 44-year-old pilot was led off the Boeing 777 flight to San Francisco following a tip-off by members of airport staff.

In January, Southwest Airlines put a pilot on leave after passengers at a security checkpoint in Columbus, Ohio, told authorities that he smelled of alcohol. The pilot ran into a restroom and changed out of his uniform jacket and called in sick.

Union leaders say pilots are under increased scrutiny by security agents and passengers because of high-profile cases involving drunk pilots.

Washington's arrest is the latest in a recent spate of pilot mishaps that has some aviation observers questioning whether the physical stresses of flying, combined with personal financial pressures, are beginning to take a toll on the profession, the Chicago Tribune reported.

In other incidents, Delta Air Lines pilots risked catastrophe when they landed a Boeing 767 on an active taxiway at Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport on Oct. 19. Two days later, two Northwest Airlines pilots overflew their destination of Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport as they pored over their laptops. On Oct. 25, a Midwest Airlines regional jet almost taxied into the path of a Northwest Airlines Boeing 757 that was taking off at Los Angeles International Airport.

One United pilot, who asked not to be identified, suggested the spate of near-disasters points to an "industry that is running on the ragged edge. ... It's a completely different life than people think," he told the Tribune.

Many pilots have seen duty hours increase, pay decline and pensions disappear since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks sent airlines into a tailspin from which they haven't fully recovered, the Tribune reported. That's on top of the chronic jet lag and strained family ties that come from spending days on the road.