OMEN
02-27-2008, 10:21 AM
A British pilot has been dismissed for "buzzing" a control tower in a Top Gun-style stunt - in a jumbo jet.
Captain Ian Wilkinson shocked passengers by taking the 230-tonne jet to within 28ft of the ground shortly after take-off from Boeing's US manufacturing plant.
The 322mph fly-by was cheered by onlookers, and the pilot, said to be one of the most senior aviators with airline Cathay Pacific, later toasted the flight with champagne.
But Cathay Pacific executives took a dim view of his unauthorised stunt and he was dismissed after a disciplinary meeting, reports The Times.
Chris Pratt, the chairman of Cathay Pacific was reportedly among the VIP passengers who were on board the £100m plane which was making its maiden flight from the plant in Everett, Washington, to Hong Kong.
A Cathay Pacific pilot claimed that Mr Wilkinson's job was put in jeopardy only after footage of the incident appeared on the internet.
He said: "Wilkinson was very much one of the elite in Cathay Pacific and would have been very chummy with the airline executives he was flying that day.
"If no one else had found out about it the incident would probably have gone no further, but once it began circulating on the internet and Hong Kong's Civil Aviation Authority got hold of it, that was the end of him."
A spokesman said: "The pilot in command of the flight was dismissed as he had neither sought nor obtained the necessary company approval to undertake such a fly-by."
Mr Wilkinson is thought to be considering an appeal against his dismissal.
Annanova
Captain Ian Wilkinson shocked passengers by taking the 230-tonne jet to within 28ft of the ground shortly after take-off from Boeing's US manufacturing plant.
The 322mph fly-by was cheered by onlookers, and the pilot, said to be one of the most senior aviators with airline Cathay Pacific, later toasted the flight with champagne.
But Cathay Pacific executives took a dim view of his unauthorised stunt and he was dismissed after a disciplinary meeting, reports The Times.
Chris Pratt, the chairman of Cathay Pacific was reportedly among the VIP passengers who were on board the £100m plane which was making its maiden flight from the plant in Everett, Washington, to Hong Kong.
A Cathay Pacific pilot claimed that Mr Wilkinson's job was put in jeopardy only after footage of the incident appeared on the internet.
He said: "Wilkinson was very much one of the elite in Cathay Pacific and would have been very chummy with the airline executives he was flying that day.
"If no one else had found out about it the incident would probably have gone no further, but once it began circulating on the internet and Hong Kong's Civil Aviation Authority got hold of it, that was the end of him."
A spokesman said: "The pilot in command of the flight was dismissed as he had neither sought nor obtained the necessary company approval to undertake such a fly-by."
Mr Wilkinson is thought to be considering an appeal against his dismissal.
Annanova