Pilot filmed sleeping in cockpit mid-flight
Video footage has emerged of a jumbo jet pilot taking a nap in the cockpit mid-flight.
The pilot is believed to be a senior officer for China Airlines, the national carrier of Taiwan. He is understood to have been flying a Boeing 747.
According to local media, he has been disciplined by China Airlines for breaching flight safety.
The pilot, with almost 20 years’ experience, was caught in the video fast asleep while the aircraft was mid-flight. It is not known when the snooze took place.
He was captured by a co-pilot, who filmed the incident and took photos. The co-pilot has also been disciplined for not waking the pilot up.
Guidelines state that pilots can sleep in the cockpit on longer flights in what is known as “controlled rest”, but typically the seat should be pulled back and the pilot nowhere near the controls.
Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Bureau states that if pilots have flown for more than 12 hours, they should be given at least 24 hours off.
Earlier this month, a China Airlines pilot strike forced the cancellation of more than 100 flights, affecting almost 20,000 passengers, in an ongoing row about pilot fatigue.
Last September, a United Airlines passenger was caught taking a nap in the first class cabin while on a flight from the US to Scotland.
