Two Air France pilots suspended after they started fighting in cockpit mid-flight

A pair of Air France pilots have been suspended from work after they got into a fight in the cockpit of a plane while it was mid-flight.

While the two should have been focused on flying the plane from Geneva to Paris, they instead got into a row shortly after take off.

Pretty soon it was punches rather than pilots who were flying, and the cabin crew went in to check on what all the noise was about when they discovered the mid-flight fight.

Seemingly unable to behave if left in the cockpit with each other, one member of the cabin crew had to stay in and ensure the pilots behaved themselves.

FORGET Patrick / Alamy Stock Photo

It seems as though this spot of adult supervision worked and the pilots didn't leave their very important task of flying a plane full of people for a second time to beat each other black and blue.

The flight, which took place back in June, thankfully arrived safely at its destination. An Air France spokesperson said the pilots displayed 'totally inappropriate behaviour'.

This incident follows a recent report that said Air France pilots sometimes ignored safety procedures.

That report focused on an incident in December 2020 involving a flight from Brazzaville to Paris where a fuel leak occurred but the pilots did not stop the engine or land as soon as possible.

While they successfully brought the aircraft down at N’Djamena airport in Chad, the report warned that by not following procedures the pilots could have set the engine alight.

The report said pilots avoided a fire breaking out 'by luck', and Air France has said it will carry out a safety audit in response.

Colin Underhill / Alamy Stock Photo

Usually when fighting kicks off on a plane it's the passengers and not the pilots who start throwing fists.

In recent years there have been some brawls which started over a refusal from certain passengers to wear masks and curb the spread of Covid.

If the pair of pilots had managed to knock each other out it might have ended up in the terrifying situation where a complete novice would have had to land the plane.

That's not entirely out of the question, however, as recently one man did exactly that with help from air traffic control to safely land a plane where the pilot had become incapacitated.

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Topics: World News, France, Travel

Joe Harker

Joe graduated from the University of Salford with a degree in Journalism and worked for Reach before joining the LADbible Group. When not writing he enjoys the nerdier things in life like painting wargaming miniatures and chatting with other nerds on the internet. He's also spent a few years coaching fencing. Contact him via [email protected]

@MrJoeHarker