British Airways has launched an investigation into why the captain of a Boeing 757 aircraft and hit co-pilot allowed a five-year-old passenger to sit at its controls. The airline has suspended the two pilots. It emerged yesterday that during the British Airways flight from the south of France to London, the five-year-old passenger, Emily Pickersgill, sat on the knee of one of the pilots and is alleged to have pressed a control button which caused the aircraft to turn.
According to reports, many of the children on the flight, which is understood to have taken place more than a week ago, queued to sit in the cockpit. It is a wellknown aspect of modern air travel and many passengers enjoy the experience. However, following a complaint from a passenger, the captain of the aircraft, Mr Phil Higton, and his co-pilot, were suspended from their duties. A British Airways spokeswoman refused to comment on the length of the suspension. "We do view it as a serious breach of company regulations but it is important to stress that at no time was the safety of the passengers compromised. The initial investigation is under way and we will be interviewing the crew of the aircraft," the spokeswoman said.
British Airways has rejected suggestions the aircraft was 15 minutes from Heathrow Airport when the girl sat at the controls. The spokeswoman said this scenario was unlikely as passengers would have been sitting in their seats preparing for landing. It was more realistic that passengers were in the cockpit 45-60 minutes from Heathrow.
British Airways also refused to release the name of the co-pilot involved.
Speaking to the News of the World yesterday, the girl at the centre of the incident said she did not even enjoy the experience. Emily Pickersgill said: "I don't want to be a pilot when I grow up. It's a bit scary."
In a separate incident, a Boeing 757 en route to Majorca with 184 British holiday-makers was forced to make an emergency landing at Gatwick Airport yesterday morning. The aircraft was 50 minutes into its flight when the control panel indicated a problem with the hydraulics.
Mr Shaun Robinson, a spokesman for Airtours International, which operates the aircraft, described the efforts of the pilot to land the aircraft safely. "When the warning light did not go off, the procedure was to land the aircraft at the nearest airport - that was Gatwick.
"It was a textbook landing and no-one was injured. However, when the brakes of the aircraft were applied, because of the hydraulics problem and limited steering of the front gear, the aircraft's nose came to rest on the grass. Passengers left the aircraft using emergency chutes."
The runway reopened at 10.50 a.m. and all the passengers resumed their journey to Majorca yesterday afternoon.