Narrative:

I was the captain and pm operating from lax. During pushback; flight attendant-a called to report an intoxicated passenger with bloodshot eyes who would not respond to crewmember instructions. He had snuck a large bag onboard (to avoid checking it) that was sitting between his feet and would not fit in the overhead bins or under the seat in front of him. When the flight attendants attempted to question or interact with him; he'd just look at them; confused; and ignore them; or tell them to leave him alone. Other passengers had commented on his behavior as well. We immediately canceled the push and coordinated a return to our gate with the ramp crew and la ground. My first officer notified lax ops that we needed [gate agent] and possibly law enforcement for an intoxicated passenger who would not comply with crewmember instructions.upon parking at the gate again; we gathered more information about the passenger including his seat number; name; physical description and build. We passed this information along to ops; and I made a delay explaining the reason for a gate return. My first officer kept dispatch in the loop while I talked to ramp and our fas. The police arrived and recommended emts be contacted; as the man appeared to be unconscious and completely unresponsive.emts arrived and managed to interact with the man. He admitted to being under the influence of alcohol and sleeping pills. We had him removed from the flight and departed without further incident. He was healthy enough that he was able to walk off the aircraft; and did not require any specific medical equipment or attention.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Air carrier flight crew reported a return to the gate at LAX after an intoxicated passenger refused to stow an oversize bag.

Narrative: I was the captain and PM operating from LAX. During pushback; FA-A called to report an intoxicated passenger with bloodshot eyes who would not respond to crewmember instructions. He had snuck a large bag onboard (to avoid checking it) that was sitting between his feet and would not fit in the overhead bins or under the seat in front of him. When the flight attendants attempted to question or interact with him; he'd just look at them; confused; and ignore them; or tell them to leave him alone. Other passengers had commented on his behavior as well. We immediately canceled the push and coordinated a return to our gate with the ramp crew and LA ground. My FO notified LAX Ops that we needed [gate agent] and possibly law enforcement for an intoxicated passenger who would not comply with crewmember instructions.Upon parking at the gate again; we gathered more information about the passenger including his seat number; name; physical description and build. We passed this information along to Ops; and I made a delay explaining the reason for a gate return. My FO kept dispatch in the loop while I talked to ramp and our FAs. The police arrived and recommended EMTs be contacted; as the man appeared to be unconscious and completely unresponsive.EMTs arrived and managed to interact with the man. He admitted to being under the influence of alcohol and sleeping pills. We had him removed from the flight and departed without further incident. He was healthy enough that he was able to walk off the aircraft; and did not require any specific medical equipment or attention.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.