Two pilots have been suspended after coming to blows at the helm of an Air France flight from Paris to Geneva, reports The Times.
The Airbus A320 was climbing after take-off from Charles de Gaulle airport when the co-pilot refused to carry out an instruction from the captain. One of the pair landed a blow on the other and they grabbed each other by the collar while remaining at the controls, it has emerged. One of the men threw his heavy clipboard at his colleague’s face, according to a report by La Tribune newspaper that was corroborated by other pilots.
Alarmed by the noise of the struggle, cabin crew asked the pilots to let them enter the cockpit. They were said to be cooling down by then. One of the cabin attendants remained on the flight deck for the rest of the short flight, which landed normally.
Air France said management had yet to decide on the fate of the pilots but that their behaviour was “totally inappropriate”.
The fight took place in June but became public knowledge days after Air France was accused by the state air accident and safety agency — the Bureau d’Enquetes et d’Analyses (BEA) — of tolerating a culture of rule-breaking by pilots.