Travel Risk: Pilot Falls Asleep while in charge of Boeing 747

Senior China Airlines Captain has been filmed sleeping in command of Boeing 747

Video footage has emerged of a jumbo jet pilot taking a nap in the cockpit mid-flight.

The pilot is believed to be a senior officer for China Airlines, the national carrier of Taiwan. He is understood to have been flying a Boeing 747.

According to local media, he has been disciplined by China Airlines for breaching flight safety.

The pilot, with almost 20 years’ experience, was caught in the video fast asleep while the aircraft was mid-flight. It is not known when the snooze took place.

He was captured by a co-pilot, who filmed the incident and took photos. The co-pilot has also been disciplined for not waking the pilot up.

Earlier this month, a China Airlines pilot strike forced the cancellation of more than 100 flights, affecting almost 20,000 passengers, in an ongoing row about pilot fatigue.

Reported by Airlive.net on 22 February 2019.

Travel Risk: Hijack of Biman Bangladesh Airlines

Biman Bangladesh Airlines Boeing 737-8E9 (WL) hijacking 1 dead

Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight 147 was hijacked by a 26-year old male passenger during the first leg of a flight from Dhaka, Bangladesh, to Chittagong and Dubai.

The aircraft, a Boeing 737-800, departed Dhaka’s Shahjalal International Airport at 11:13 UTC (17:13 local time). Some 15 minutes after takeoff the hijacker brandished a toy gun and walked up to the cockpit door. He requested to talk to the Prime Minister.

At 11:39 UTC (17:39 local) the aircraft landed on runway 11 at Chittagong. The aircraft stopped on the main apron and an evacuation was carried out. Police and commandos stormed the aircraft and killed the suspect.

Date: Sunday 24 February 2019
Type: Silhouette image of generic B738 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different
Boeing 737-8E9 (WL)
Operator: Biman Bangladesh Airlines
Registration: S2-AHV
C/n / msn: 40335/5715
First flight: 2015-12-11 (3 years 3 months)
Engines: 2 CFMI CFM56-7BE
Crew: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 14
Passengers: Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 134
Total: Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 148
Aircraft damage: None
Location: Chittagong-Shah Amanat International Airport (CGP) (   Bangladesh)
Phase: En route (ENR)
Nature: Domestic Scheduled Passenger
Departure airport: Dhaka-Shahjalal International Airport (DAC/VGHS), Bangladesh
Destination airport: Chittagong-Shah Amanat International Airport (CGP/VGEG), Bangladesh
Flightnumber: BG147

Reported by Air Transport News on 24 February 2019.