Virgin Atlantic flight turns back to London due to co-pilot’s qualification – IOTW Report

Virgin Atlantic flight turns back to London due to co-pilot’s qualification

NYP: Passengers were reportedly left fuming after a Virgin Atlantic flight to New York was forced to turn back to London when it became apparent that the co-pilot was not qualified to fly because he had not completed his final assessment.

The Airbus A330 was about 40 minutes into its flight to JFK Airport on Monday when the two pilots became aware of what the airline later called a “rostering error.”

The captain is not a designated trainer and was not qualified to fly with a co-pilot who had not completed Virgin Atlantic training protocols, according to the airline. more

22 Comments on Virgin Atlantic flight turns back to London due to co-pilot’s qualification

  1. It’s an Airbus. The automation mostly ignores the pilots anyway.

    Airbus used to say every plane needed two things: 2 pilots to make the government happy, and an angry dog to snap at the pilots hands if they tried to touch any flight controls once the plane was airborne.

    …that was before their fancy new autopilot did THIS, tho, so they’ve rethought some things since then, but the pilots are still largely irrelevant unless something goes seriously wrong…

    https://youtu.be/-kHa3WNerjU

    …enjoy your flight…

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  2. SNS: And they charged the pilot with manslaughter. Of course, the government who is heavily invested and involved with the company who made the plane acted in an unbiased manner when sending the pilot to prison.

    There is also a video of a Turkish Airbus flitting around the sky like a butterfly. But sure, let’s let computers control everything. That comforts everyone whole has ever seen the Blue Screen of Death.

    And Virgin puts an unqualified pilot on the plane and they don’t owe any compensation to the passengers?

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  3. Passengers were reportedly left fuming after a Virgin Atlantic flight to New York was forced to turn back to London

    People who claim they don’t understand why mammals that are not human, don’t understand why “fuming” is a wizarding word.

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  4. RadioMattM
    MAY 5, 2022 AT 3:18 PM

    “And Virgin puts an unqualified pilot on the plane and they don’t owe any compensation to the passengers?”

    …also left unsaid was how much this screwed up the connecting flights of passengers for whom JFK was NOT their final destination…

    …that’s not nothing, either. One time I flew back from MCO to CVG that was SUPPOSED to be a direct flight, but weather made them put down at SDF instead, which lost power on part of the ramp itself shortly after we landed. Some passengers were going there but thier routing was MCO to CVG to SDF so they asked if they could get off there, but the airport saud they couldn’t provide Air Stairs because of the power failure.

    So hours later they completed the flight to CVG where I was done, only to be told there would be no more flights till tomorrow.

    That was a LOT of pissed people. But at least, even though the weather wasn’t their fault, the airline put them up in hotels anyway.

    Seems like its a lesson in customer care that Virgin never learned.

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  5. The co-pilot should be aware of exactly what his status is. As a lowly VFR rated private pilot, I’m responsible to know the status if my medical certificate, my flight review status, my certificate ratings, my pre-flight requirements status, and my log book endorsements. It’s not anyone else’s job.

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  6. I’ve flown across the Country four times- first in 1957 (DC-3), most recently in 2003 (A 300) for my father’s burial at Arlington Nat’l Cemetery.
    Time permitting, I would much prefer to drive and have done so on numerous occasions.

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  7. SNS: One time I was flying from St. Louis to Seattle on what was supposed to be a non-stop flight. Also on the flight was a woman flying on a pass who wanted to go from Salt Lake City to Seattle. Since she was on a pass, she had to go through the hub, which was St. Louis.

    Well, the flight from St. Louis to Seattle was not very full, and a flight from Salt Lake City to Seattle was not very full, so they combined the two resulting in the flight from St. Louis stopping in Salt Lake City. This woman flew from Salt Lake City to St. Louis to Salt Lake City to Seattle.

    Another time we were flying from Vancouver to San Francisco. At the time when flying internationally people were supposed to check their bags 45 minutes early. We got in line 45 minutes before that. There were maybe 25 people in line. That morning there were weather issues in Chicago making several people miss their connections to Europe and requiring them to stay overnight in Chicago. There were five people booking hotel rooms in Chicago for those people. There was one person checking people in for other flights. That made most of the people late for their check-in late. We had to throw away several brand new packages of toiletries because we were too late to check our bags.

    One thing with COVID — I think airlines went out of their way to further piss off people who were already somewhat pissed off, probably causing long-term damage to airlines’ financial pictures. Add to that the fact that many countries placed restrictions on people entering further reducing the need for airline travel.

    They brought this all on themselves. Where we are now there is plenty to see by driving so unless something very important comes up, there is no reason to fly.

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  8. @fnuck

    Advice

    fnuck, fnord…your screen name is enough of a mystery…write clearly and make your points, if you have any, understandable.

    You don’t have to write like a failed 1920’s intellectual.

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  9. @Tim

    I called some dude a fuck knuckle and somebody else said they were gonna’ use it.

    To read fnucky, you have to be younger than me. It’s not a code. It’s a specific set of references and a worldview most older people are unfamiliar with.

    Fnuckys post was actually funny if you read it with understanding instead of animosity.

    He’s cool.

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  10. You haven’t really flown until you’ve been crammed into a C-141 Starlifter to fly from Warner Robins Ga to Fairbanks AK. Web seats and a trashcan behind a tarp for a latrine, and don’t forget the complimentary earplugs.

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  11. I’m surprised that the CAA licenses their airmen. Unlike the FAA.
    On another note it was a blatant lie that no regulation was busted. If the airline doesn’t follow their training program then they are in violation of the regulations. They will likely pay a fine and it would have been worse if they hadn’t turned around.

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