Piloto de Cathay Pacific despedido por hacer una pasada baja
Escrito por: Skaly en Noticias y Curiosidades (Aeronáutica)Es casi de risa, pero no creo que le suceda lo mismo al comandante de esta aeronave. Les entregaron el avión nuevo, con su flamante pintura y, para inaugurarlo, no se lo ocurrió mejor idea que hacer un low pass. Lo que no sabía el comandante del Boeing 777-300 es que el CEO de la compañía estaba a bordo y que las imágenes acabarían en Internet ya que, de haberlo sabido, seguro que no habría realizado esta maniobra:
La noticia, en inglés, en The Guardian:
One of Britain’s most senior airline pilots has been sacked for flying a passenger jet just 28ft off the ground as a stunt to entertain a group of VIPs.
Captain Ian Wilkinson was dismissed by Cathay Pacific after the low-flying manoeuvre, cheered by spectators, was posted on websites, including YouTube.
The footage shows the £100m jet swooping over the runway at Boeing headquarters in Seattle, Washington, USA, with its undercarriage raised.
The 55-year-old pilot was cheered by spectators and received a champagne toast reception after landing the 230-ton Boeing 777-300ER in Hong Kong, according to the Daily Mail. He was even pictured in Cathay Pacific’s newsletter toasting the maiden flight with airline executives who had been on board. Among the 30 VIP passengers was Cathay Pacific’s British chairman Chris Pratt.
But the fly-by manoeuvre had not been approved by the airline, although Wilkinson had cleared it with air traffic controllers in Seattle, according to the Daily Mail. He was suspended after the stunt appeared on the internet, and dismissed from his £250,000-a-year job at a disciplinary hearing last week. His co-pilot Ray Middleton, 47, who is said to have been unaware the fly-by was unauthorised, was suspended from training duties for six months.
Wilkinson, who was the chief pilot for the airline’s 777 fleet, is reported to be considering an appeal against his dismissal.
Another senior Cathay Pacific pilot told the Mail that Wilkinson might still be in post had his stunt not ended up on the internet
“If no one else had found out about it, the incident would probably have gone no further. But once it began circulating on the internet and Hong Kong’s Civil Aviation Department got wind of it, that was the end of him,” he said.
“Maiden flights are treated as a bit of a jolly for executives with lots of champagne flowing and these fly-bys used to be done for a wheeze in the old days. But they are dangerous, because however good the pilot thinks he is, he isn’t trained for it and the planes aren’t designed for it.
“Wilkinson was showing off, and most of the pilots might be sympathetic but they feel he got what he deserved when he was sacked.”
Entradas (RSS)