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| Rules stopped pilot's fog landing | Rules stopped pilot's fog landing |
| (8 minutes later) | |
| A pilot with 30 years' experience told passengers on a flight to Paris that he was returning to the UK because he was not qualified to land in foggy weather. | |
| Flybe flight BE1431 from Cardiff was approaching Charles De Gaulle airport on Tuesday when the captain made the announcement over the tannoy. | Flybe flight BE1431 from Cardiff was approaching Charles De Gaulle airport on Tuesday when the captain made the announcement over the tannoy. |
| A Flybe spokeswoman said there had been dense fog in Paris and the company stood by the pilot's decision "100%". | A Flybe spokeswoman said there had been dense fog in Paris and the company stood by the pilot's decision "100%". |
| The 62 passengers were put on the next flight to Paris or offered a refund. | The 62 passengers were put on the next flight to Paris or offered a refund. |
| The Flybe pilot concerned has 30 years' commercial aviation experience flying a number of different passenger aircraft types, said the Flybe spokeswoman. | |
| "He has relatively recently transferred his 'type-rating' from a Bombardier Q300 to a Bombardier Q400 and has not yet completed the requisite low-visibility training to complete a landing in conditions such as the dense fog experienced in Paris Charles de Gaulle," she said. | "He has relatively recently transferred his 'type-rating' from a Bombardier Q300 to a Bombardier Q400 and has not yet completed the requisite low-visibility training to complete a landing in conditions such as the dense fog experienced in Paris Charles de Gaulle," she said. |
| Everyone was totally shocked when he said he couldn't land in the fog, it caused a bit of a panic Ronan Boyle, passenger | Everyone was totally shocked when he said he couldn't land in the fog, it caused a bit of a panic Ronan Boyle, passenger |
| "The captain therefore quite correctly turned the aircraft around and returned to Cardiff, a decision which the company stands by 100%. | |
| "Aviation is the most highly regulated form of public transport in the United Kingdom. As a result, technical situations like these arise where a pilot with 30 years experience correctly abides by regulatory rules. | "Aviation is the most highly regulated form of public transport in the United Kingdom. As a result, technical situations like these arise where a pilot with 30 years experience correctly abides by regulatory rules. |
| "At no point was passenger safety compromised." | "At no point was passenger safety compromised." |
| Flybe added that when the pilot took off from Cardiff, the weather at Paris Charles De Gaulle was clear. | Flybe added that when the pilot took off from Cardiff, the weather at Paris Charles De Gaulle was clear. |
| Ronan Boyle, from Ballycastle in Northern Ireland, said he was a passenger on the flight, heading for a conference on rural retailing. | |
| He said: "Everyone was totally shocked when he said he couldn't land in the fog, it caused a bit of a panic as we never knew what was going on and thought it was a little unusual. A lot of people feared for the worst." | He said: "Everyone was totally shocked when he said he couldn't land in the fog, it caused a bit of a panic as we never knew what was going on and thought it was a little unusual. A lot of people feared for the worst." |
| The Civil Aviation Authority described the incident as "quite unusual but probably not unheard of". | The Civil Aviation Authority described the incident as "quite unusual but probably not unheard of". |
| 'Climactic conditions' | |
| "I guess he thought when he initially took off that conditions would be suitable for him to land," said a spokesman. | "I guess he thought when he initially took off that conditions would be suitable for him to land," said a spokesman. |
| "There are different classifications of aircraft and when an aircraft is updated, pilots who have flown an older version have to completely retrain. | "There are different classifications of aircraft and when an aircraft is updated, pilots who have flown an older version have to completely retrain. |
| "There can be significant differences in terms of how an aircraft is operated. | "There can be significant differences in terms of how an aircraft is operated. |
| "Different climatic conditions like fog require a certain level of skill and he probably didn't have the level of training required for this particular aircraft." | "Different climatic conditions like fog require a certain level of skill and he probably didn't have the level of training required for this particular aircraft." |