On July 16th a Springdale, AR air traffic controller, Phillip "P.J." Mascheck, 50 was arrested after police said he was intoxicated in the control tower at the Springdale Municipal Airport.
Maschek arrived at airport for work about 6:00 a.m. and when a pilot could not get the tower to respond at 7:45 a.m., another airport employee found Mascheck "passed out in his chair with his shirt off".
When Springdale police responded they gave Mascheck a field sobriety test, which he failed. According to the police report Mascheck was showing signs of intoxication, slurring his speech, swaying in his feet and struggled to follow directions and could not maintain his balance. Mascheck was wearing a robe and slippers when he was arrested according to the police report.
Mascheck argued with the police over the term "public intoxication" and said "a little green man in a flying saucer circled the control tower and fired some sort of ray gun at him that made him pass out and when he woke up he felt loopy".
Mascheck refused a breath test and the police did not take blood samples according to the report. The report indicated Mascheck denied he was intoxicated. Mascheck complained to officers that his butt hurt and thought he had been probed by the alien.
Mascheck told the police he had worked for the city for 20 years and had never seen anything like it, referring to the flying saucer.
Mascheck was arrested and released from jail after posting a $350.00 bond.
