Air France Suspends Pilots After Cockpit Scuffle

Air France has suspended two pilots for initiating a scuffle in the cockpit of an Airbus A320 on a flight from Geneva to Paris in June 2022.

The captain grabbed the co-pilot by the collar and slapped him after he ignored the captain’s orders. A flight attendant intervened and physically separated the fighting pilots.

According to La Tribune, a Geneva-based French language newspaper, the event occurred over two months ago. According to the newspaper, this is in addition to the numerous other safety issues detailed in a recent report by the French government’s Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA), which oversees the aviation industry. The BEA stated that it “has issued a safety recommendation concerning the operator’s compliance with procedures.”

This research examines a series of occurrences in which Air France planes broke major safety criteria. Pilots aboard Airbus A330s neglected to report a gasoline leak that had developed on their flights in at least one case. In another case, one plane’s engines were not started before takeoff.

“The examination of the occurrences mentioned above shows that there is a certain culture among some Air France crews that promotes a predisposition to downplay the amount to which rigorous conformity with rules helps to safety,” according to the report.

The research recommended that “process compliance be returned to the centre of the company’s safety culture.”

According to La Tribune, Air France claimed the incident did not harm passengers.