Two Air France pilots who got into a physical altercation in the cockpit on a Geneva-Paris flight in June have been suspended, an Air France official said on Sunday. The flight continued and landed safely, and the dispute did not affect other parts of the flight, the official said, emphasizing the airline’s commitment to safety.
The pilot and co-pilot got into an argument shortly after take-off, with one grabbing the other by the collar after hitting the other. Cabin crew intervened and a crew member spent the flight in the cabin with the pilots, according to the report.
News of the fight came after France’s aeronautical investigation agency, BEA, released a report on Wednesday claiming that some Air France pilots failed to strictly observe procedures during safety incidents.
In December 2020, attention focused on a fuel rupture on an Air France flight from Brazzaville, Republic of Congo to Paris, when pilots diverted the plane and failed to turn off the engine or power to land quickly enough to process. the leak. The plane landed safely in Chattanooga, but the BEA report warned that the engine could have caught fire.
He cited three similar cases between 2017 and 2022 and said some pilots acted based on their own analysis of the situation rather than safety protocols.
Air France said it was carrying out a security audit in response. It has committed to following BEA recommendations, which include allowing pilots to study their planes and stricter adherence to training manuals.
The airline said it operates thousands of flights daily and only mentioned four such safety incidents in the report.
Air France pilot unions emphasized that safety is paramount for all pilots and defended pilots’ actions in emergency situations.
The BEA also investigated an incident in April when an Air France flight from New York’s JFK airport experienced an air traffic control issue while landing in Paris.
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