The plane had to make a U-turn over Ireland when the co-pilot admitted after 40 minutes of flying that he had missed his last assessment flight. The plane was already flying over Ireland when the student told the chief pilot how the fork was.
The plane with 300 passengers on board had to wait back at Heathrow Airport in London for a qualified replacement, resulting in the plane arriving in New York three hours later than planned.
The airline apologized, saying that the incident was caused by a ‘roster error’. The passengers were never in danger, it was said. Both pilots were fully licensed and qualified to fly the aircraft.
The copilot required a “final assessment flight” with a training captain to fly in line with Virgin Atlantic policy. The choice of the two pilots did not violate aviation or safety regulations, but did break the internal training protocols.
Tension
A source told the Sun: ,,The tension in the cockpit was to die for. The lead pilot had no choice but to arrange a suitable replacement. It was embarrassing for everyone and the passengers were furious.”
The company is said to have analyzed the company’s internal processes to prevent similar incidents in the future.