A flight from Virgin Atlantic was forced to reverse after it turned out that one of the pilots had not completed all of his company training.
Flight VS3, which was on its way to New York after taking off from Heathrow on Monday, was ordered to return about half an hour after takeoff.
The Airbus A330 arrived back at the London-based airport about an hour later, where the co-pilot was replaced.
Although the first officer is fully licensed and qualified to fly the aircraft, they have not completed the “final assessment flight” required by the airline.
As a result, the captain was not given the status of a designated instructor and the pairing of pilots violated the “internal training protocols”, but not the UK aviation and safety rules.
A spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority said he had been informed of the incident by the airline and confirmed that “both pilots had the appropriate license and qualifications to fly.”
The captain has been described as “very experienced” with “many thousands of hours of flight in 17 years in Virgin Atlantic”, while his co-pilot joined the airline in 2017.
Read more from Sky News: Heathrow passengers may see airport charges rise by 50% next year Air passengers need more protection for disruptions such as COVID-19
Virgin Atlantic, which is largely owned by billionaire Richard Branson, blamed the incident for a “mistake on the list” and said the officer had been replaced to ensure “full compliance” with her protocols.
After the change was made, the flight was resumed and eventually landed at JFK Airport in New York about two hours and 40 minutes later than planned.
Virgin Atlantic’s internal operations, meanwhile, have been reviewed and updated to avoid a similar incident in the future.
The airline apologized for the inconvenience caused to its customers.
Add Comment