France warned Italian officials that terrorist hijacking could be underway. (Unsplash/Representative)
A pilot working for one of Italy's main airlines has been sacked after he allegedly “fell asleep” at the controls of a plane, sparking a terror alert by the French authorities.
According to Daily Star, traffic controllers were unable to communicate with the plane for about 10 minutes, following which the French officials readied two fighter jets for surveillance. Moreover, authorities in France also warned the Italian officials that terrorist hijacking could be underway.
The captain was in charge of the ITA Airlines AZ609 passenger flight from New York to Rome. At first, the pilot had claimed that there had been malfunctions in the equipment due to which he was unable to communicate with the traffic controllers. However, after an internal investigation, ITA Airways found “inconsistencies” in the captain's story.
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As per the media outlet, the co-pilot had also been napping for a “controlled test” protocol while the Airbus 330 was on autopilot. This resulted in a communications blackout which drew concern from ground control.
The Italian authorities contacted ITA Airways central command who then tried contacting the pilots, first with satellite cell phones and then via messages on ACARS - a digital data link system for the transmission of messages between aircraft and ground stations. The continual attempts at communication failed for just over 10 minutes, at which point the pilots responded.
Following the incident, Michele Anzaldi, a centre-left Italian lawmaker, called for an official apology from the state-owned carrier. Taking to Twitter, Mr Anzaldi called the incident “very grave” and said that the company has a duty to guarantee that this will never happen again. The airlines “must apologise to the passengers,” he added.
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The pilot has been fired. The flight was on autopilot, flying at normal speed and altitude, and never detoured from its route. Passenger safety was never compromised, an airline spokesman told The Telegraph. In a statement, the airlines stressed that the safety of the flight was always guaranteed, thanks to elevated technology on board.