The investigation said both pilots of an ITA Airways flight that departed John F. Kennedy International Airport on April 30 were reportedly asleep in the cockpit as their Airbus 330 took off at 38,000 feet over France .
Investigators said one pilot fell asleep during his scheduled sleeping break, while the captain of the airplane also fell asleep.
Air traffic controllers told investigators they lost contact with the plane for about 10 minutes. Amidst the fear of a terrorist incident, they prepared fighter jets to stop the plane, but the pilots retaliated.
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John Nance, an ABC News contributing aviation analyst, called the situation “extremely dangerous”, especially if pilots were unable to monitor weather conditions and the aircraft’s fuel condition.
“The plane can still fly on autopilot, but it’s not smart or safe,” he said.
ITA Airways, formerly known as Alitalia, said that the captain claimed that the radio had stopped working, but investigators found “between the statements made by the captain and the results of an internal investigation,” according to a statement. ” had got. strong discrepancies”.
The Italian airline said in a statement that the captain’s behavior was “not in line with the rules set by the company.”
The plane still managed to land safely in Rome, and ITA Airways fired the captain.
In April, pilots at Southwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines pressured airlines to address pilot fatigue amid rising demand for travel and staffing shortages.
“Fatigue, both acute and cumulative, has become Southwest Airlines’ number-one safety hazard,” the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, or SWAPA, told airline executives in a letter.
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