Air France rejects claims that pilot showed off

Air France is denying potentially damaging allegations that appeared in the London Times and the Mirror, that one of its pilots nearly caused a fatal accident by “showing off” to a teenaged passenger who had been permitted to enter the cockpit. Air France issued an official statement in which it did confirm that the descent of a flight from Manchester to Paris was, in fact, “interrupted” prior to landing in the French capital, because air traffic control had warned the pilot that the plane was flying too close to another aircraft. The incident occurred on Saturday, but after an initial investigation into the matter, Air France concluded that the manoeuvre that the pilot used was “very simple and normal.” Additionally, France’s flag carrier also observed that despite what some passengers told various newspapers in the UK, no one had been permitted to enter the cockpit during the landing phase. The airline did not, however, address the issue of whether any traveller had been allowed to enter the cockpit during the flight itself, which some have argued also contravenes strict security rules enacted after the 9/11 attacks.

Passengers on the Manchester to Paris flight told British journalists of their frightening experience on board the plane, which they felt rocked and rolled from one side to another. Additionally, one passenger indicated that he could hear sirens go off in the cockpit and that a number of passengers had started to pray, feeling that they were in mortal danger. A number of travellers also told the media that they had seen a young traveller allowed into the cockpit.

www.airfrance.com