A captain working for one of Italy's main airlines has been sacked after he allegedly fell asleep at the controls of a plane sparking a terror alert by the French authorities.
Traffic controllers were unable to communicate with the plane for 10 minutes causing French officials to warn Italy that a terrorist hijacking could be underway.
An internal investigation by operator ITA Airways found "inconsistencies" in the captain's story as he claimed there were malfunctions in the equipment.
The co-pilot had been napping for a “controlled rest” as procedure allow, but the captain is supposed to be awake and reachable, reports Telegraph.
This left both pilots of the ITA Airways AZ609 passenger flight from New York to Rome on April 30 asleep at the controls of the Airbus 330.
On Twitter, Michele Anzaldi, a centre-left lawmaker, called for an official apology from the state-owned carrier, saying: “What happened on the ITA flight from New York, where both pilots fell asleep, is very grave.
“The company has a duty to guarantee that this will never happen again and must apologise to the passengers.”
A spokesperson for the airline assured worried customers that the flight was on autopilot, flying at normal speed exactly as expected and that passenger safety was never at risk.
In a statement to The Telegraph, ITA said that an investigation revealed the captain acted “not in compliance with procedure” both during the flight and after it had landed.
Technicians tested all systems as part of the internal investigation and found no issues, refuting the captain’s account that the blackout was due to problems with the communications system.
The airline stressed “clearly and rigorously” that the safety of the flight was always guaranteed
The snafoo came to light after Marseille traffic controllers repeatedly tried to contact the plane but to no luck.
They had tried in vain several times to contact the pilots about their position.
Fearing a potential terrorist incident, French air authorities contacted their Rome counterparts at 5.21 am, who in turn contacted the airline.
Two fighter jets were even preparing to intercept the plane before the pilots eventually responded.
The plane landed at it's destination of Rome 20 minutes before it's scheduled arrival time.
