Air France suspends two pilots after fight in cockpit

PARIS — Two pilots have been suspended after they were allegedly involved in a fistfight midair during an Air France flight.

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An airline official confirmed the two had a physical altercation in the cockpit during a flight from Geneva to Paris, The Associated Press reported. The official told the AP that the flight continued and landed safely, and that the fight had no impact on the rest of the flight.

During the incident, which happened in June, the pilot and copilot began arguing shortly after takeoff and grabbed each other by the collars, with one possibly hitting or slapping the other, Bloomberg reported, citing an account in the French newspaper La Tribune. Cabin personnel heard the fight in the cockpit and intervened, with one extra person spending the flight on the flight deck, according to the newspaper.

News of the fight came as France’s government authority for aviation, BEA, issued safety recommendations for Air France, citing recent incidents which included a fuel leak that forced a flight from Brazzaville to Paris to divert and land in Chad in December, CNN reported.

The BEA is also investigating a “serious” incident on an Air France flight when a Boeing 777 aborted landing at Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport after the pilot told air traffic controllers the craft was “unresponsive” and was “going nuts,” Bloomberg reported. The plane landed safely on its second attempt.

The report from BEA said that some Air France pilots “lack rigor” in respecting procedures during safety incidents, the AP reported.

Air France told the AP that it is carrying out its own safety audit in response to the report, and that it plans to follow the BEA’s recommendations, which include stricter training manuals and having pilots study their flights afterwards.

The airline noted to the AP that it flies thousands of flights daily and the BEA report only mentioned four safety incidents.

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