Colorado pilot says he was fired over marijuana "mistake"

CENTENNIAL, Colo. (KUSA) – A Colorado pilot was fired after he says he accidentally ate a marijuana edible.

After years of hard work Nate Cupps finally achieved his life-long dream of becoming an airline pilot.

Suddenly, his dream was destroyed overnight after failing a required drug test for work.

Cupps says he failed that test because he accidentally ate one of his friends’ sugar-coated candies during a weekend trip to the nearby casinos. Turns out, those candies were marijuana edibles.

Great Lakes Airlines fired Cupps over the failed test, and the FAA took away his medical certification, meaning he couldn’t fly at all.

Cupps began working with a physician who helped him get his certification back.

He has to continue regular drug testing and monitoring for another year, but Cupps says that’s nothing compared to the eight-month fight to fly.

Cupps is currently working in sales. He hasn’t decided what he plans to do in aviation next.