EasyJet pilot caught 'dancing' in cock-pit during flight

Passenger safety not thought to have been compromised by the performance

EasyJet is investigating after one of its pilots was filmed “dancing” in the cock-pit during a flight.

In a post uploaded to Snapchat, a co-pilot can be seen doing paperwork while the plane is in cruise control. Upon realising that the pilot is filming him, he begins to “dance” in time with an animated owl superimposed onto the phone screen, reports the Daily Mail.

Captain Michel Castellucci posted a video of his co-pilot on Snapchat (Snapchat)

The pilot, Michel Castellucci, later posted it onto the social media platform under the name “pilot_flyingnut”, with the caption: “Dancing first officer in cruise doing paperwork”.

The video only lasts a matter of seconds and was filmed during cruise – passenger safety was in no way compromised by the pilots’ actions.

In a statement provided to The Independent, an easyJet spokeswoman said: “Whilst at no point was the safety of the passengers compromised, this falls well short of the high standards easyJet expects of its pilots.

"It is not acceptable and is not representative of the thousands of highly professional pilots who work for the airline. We take this issue seriously and as such the pilots have been suspended (in line with our procedures) pending a disciplinary investigation.”

The video was viewed over 6,000 times before it was removed.

Despite safety not being compromised, passengers were nonetheless displeased.

“The cockpit duo were not focused on the controls, just on having a good time,” one viewer wrote. “It only takes seconds for something catastrophic to go wrong, even in cruise control.”

“It’s dangerous, unprofessional, and sends out the wrong image. High jinks in the cockpit at 30,000ft is never a good look.”

Cruise control is widely considered to be the safest part of air travel in comparison to take-off and landing.

EasyJet isn’t the only airline to have to deal with pilot behaviour in 2018. In January, two Jet Airways pilots left the cockpit while "having a fight"’ A male pilot reportedly slapped his female colleague before the two left the controls unattended with 323 passengers and 14 crew members on board.

After the captain left the cockpit, she was followed by the co-pilot as he asked her to return, in direct contravention of aviation rules, which state that one pilot must be in the cockpit at all times during flight. He then used the intercom to ask cabin crew to persuade the captain to return, alerting passengers to the situation.

The Indian Directorate of General Civil Aviation suspended the male pilot and opened an investigation, while the airline suspended both pilots.