A fight broke out between two pilots shortly after take-off on an Air France flight, according to an airline official. Both pilots have reportedly been suspended following the mid-air incident, which has prompted calls from investigators for more robust safety protocols on flights.
The Independent cited a report in Switzerland's Tribune de Geneve that the pilot and co-pilot grabbed each other by their collars after one apparently struck the other. The altercation on the flight from Geneva to Paris was broken up by cabin crew, according to the report.
One member of the crew reportedly spent the whole flight in the cockpit with the two pilots following the violence. The incident was described by an Air France spokesperson as "totally inappropriate behaviour".
The flight resumed and landed safely, said the official who also emphasised the airline's commitment to safety after a number of recent incidents attracted the attention of regulators. Details of the fracas came to light days after France's air investigation agency, BEA, issued a report saying that safety rules were occasionally ignored by some Air France pilots.
The report highlighted a fuel leak on an Airbus A33 flight carrying 136 passengers from Brazzaville in the Republic of the Congo to Paris in December 2020, when the crew ran the risk of a fire in the engine. Pilots rerouted the plane but failed to follow correct procedure which required them to cut power to the engine or land as soon as possible.
The plane landed safely at N’Djamena airport in Chad. However, investigators said that "fire was avoided by luck" because the leaking fuel could have ignited and caused a fire.
Three similar cases between 2017 and 2022 were looked at by the report. It said that some pilots were failing to follow standard safety measures and relying on their own analyses of risk.
Air France said it has launched a safety audit following the report's publication. It has vowed to follow the BEA's recommendations, which include enabling pilots to study their flights afterwards and making training manuals stricter about following procedure.
The airline added that it flied thousands of flights every day and the report cites just four safety incidents. Air France pilots unions have insisted that security is paramount to all pilots and defended pilot actions during emergency situations.
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