We are all a little guilty to have fallen asleep in between classes or hiding those red sleepy eyes with black sunglasses while sitting on the front seat of a car. I also know of people who “accidentally” fall asleep while driving on a highway!
And I only say to them, “you know you can get killed, right?”
So imagine my, as well as the world’s, shock when we saw this pilot who fell asleep during a flight!
A video of a Chinese pilot sleeping inside the cockpit has gone viral causing a lot of concern and backlash.
According to sources, he was the senior pilot flying a Boeing 747 belonging to China Airlines, the national carrier of Taiwan.
He has been the Chief Officer of the airline, has 20 years experience, and also serves as a flight instructor in charge of flight simulator testing.
Oh, the irony!
Even though the aviation company has declared that the pilot has been punished for breaching flight safety regulations, people cannot stop wondering about the grave accidents which could have occurred.
Sources reveal that his co-pilot took the video along with several pictures, but has also been “disciplined” for not waking him up.
Guidelines state that pilots can sleep in the cockpit on longer flights, which is known as “controlled rest”, but typically the seat should be pulled back and the pilot shouldn’t be near the controls.
Even though it looks like he is tired and is in need of sleep, and to a level I sympathise with him, next time I’m on a flight, I’ll have questions to ask about the pilots!