August Busch IV appeared too intoxicated to take off in helicopter

The former Anheuser-Busch CEO August Busch IV is under investigation after appearing “too intoxicated to take off” hours after a helicopter landed in an office park near St Louis, US media reported on 13 July 2017.

Mr Busch, 53, was CEO of the St Louis-based brewer from 2006 until it was taken over by InBev in 2008. He is the great-great-grandson of Adolphus Busch, the founder of Anheuser-Busch.

According to media, a helicopter landed near buildings in an office park at around lunch time on 11 July. The pilot was gone by the time officers arrived.

In the evening a caller told police the pilot had returned “and appeared too intoxicated to take off.” An arriving officer found that the “helicopter rotors were spinning and the engine was revving up.”

Officers believed that Mr Busch was under the influence of a controlled substance. He was taken to a hospital for further testing.

Mr Busch, who has a commercial pilot’s license, spent the night in custody before being released the following afternoon.