Cathay pilot 'sacked for Top Gun stunt'
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Co-pilot Ray Middleton, who is understood to have been unaware the fly-by was unauthorized, was suspended from training duties for six months.
Photographer Liem Bahneman
B.
Photographer Liem Bahneman
B.
Am sure this pilot will gain employment again, or is he 'blacklisted' for x amount of time. Could someone in the know of these things please comment >>
I see it as making mountains over molehills. I would love to know who these people are on the 'boards' _> all saints I'm sure
I see it as making mountains over molehills. I would love to know who these people are on the 'boards' _> all saints I'm sure
!.
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Wilkinson was their Chief Pilot according to a post at ..
http://blog.seattle-deliveries.com/2...-delivery.html
This post from 'anonymous' may give some insight into his sacking ...
"I am a CX pilot and can tell you all right now that myself and none of the other CX pilots are sorry to see Wilko go. He was a total prick and anyone would think he owned CX the way he used to carry on.
We have been trying to find a reason to get rid of him for a long time and the youtube video was too good an opportunity to pass up...."
http://blog.seattle-deliveries.com/2...-delivery.html
This post from 'anonymous' may give some insight into his sacking ...
"I am a CX pilot and can tell you all right now that myself and none of the other CX pilots are sorry to see Wilko go. He was a total prick and anyone would think he owned CX the way he used to carry on.
We have been trying to find a reason to get rid of him for a long time and the youtube video was too good an opportunity to pass up...."
"I am a CX pilot and can tell you all right now that myself and none of the other CX pilots are sorry to see Wilko go. He was a total prick and anyone would think he owned CX the way he used to carry on.
Last edited by BuzzBox; 24th Feb 2008 at 23:05.
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Pilots are employed by the company to fly the aeroplane in the normal manner.
Low fly-by's are generally not in the modus operandi, so ask first, then perform, least you find grief from the head shed.
He was a silly fool, similar to Pablo.
OTOH, purchase the aeroplane, do as you like, ATC permitting, of course.
Low fly-by's are generally not in the modus operandi, so ask first, then perform, least you find grief from the head shed.
He was a silly fool, similar to Pablo.
OTOH, purchase the aeroplane, do as you like, ATC permitting, of course.
N1 Vibes:
I'm sure there are lots of reasons why morale on the 777 has been pretty good during the man's time as chief pilot, not all of them directly attributable to him. The point I was trying to make is that the comments quoted by pasoundman are simply not true. Ian was quite highly respected by most people.
I'm sure there are lots of reasons why morale on the 777 has been pretty good during the man's time as chief pilot, not all of them directly attributable to him. The point I was trying to make is that the comments quoted by pasoundman are simply not true. Ian was quite highly respected by most people.
The Reverend
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A310Guy,
How do you know it was unplanned? Unplanned is a go around from a hundred feet or less, aborted landing in which I have been involved a few times on revenue flights like countless others have been.
The problem with the unplanned flyby is just that. It was unplanned.
This sacking will be entirely about the regulating authority (CAD) demanding a satisfactory explanation and CX Senior managers running for cover so as not to be implicated. I mean VERY Senior Managers.
Why not authorise it retrospectively (it was well executed and allegedly nobody complained)? Why not turn the world wide interest into a CX PR bonanza in the same way that a certain Mr Branson would have done?
As usual, when asked to think quickly and 'out of the box', CX Management reverts to type and selects the 'self preservation' mode.
Is this leadership?? Didn't the same people think IW was one of their best pilots just last week? Does time in the Company (20+ years) mean nothing? Why decide on the ultimate punishment?
So may questions and so few answers.
And all about a perfectly well flown non-event!
Why not authorise it retrospectively (it was well executed and allegedly nobody complained)? Why not turn the world wide interest into a CX PR bonanza in the same way that a certain Mr Branson would have done?
As usual, when asked to think quickly and 'out of the box', CX Management reverts to type and selects the 'self preservation' mode.
Is this leadership?? Didn't the same people think IW was one of their best pilots just last week? Does time in the Company (20+ years) mean nothing? Why decide on the ultimate punishment?
So may questions and so few answers.
And all about a perfectly well flown non-event!
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Daily Mail Version
Top British pilot fired for performing 320mph 'fly-by' just 28ft off the ground - in a passenger jet
by SIMON PARRY - More by this author »
Last updated at 07:38am on 25th February 2008
Comments
Hurtling along at 320mph, the passenger jet was just 28ft above the runway - with its landing gear raised.
However, this was no emergency, but a stunt by one of Britain's most senior pilots.
Captain Ian Wilkinson performed the astonishing "fly-by" manoeuvre to entertain VIP passengers on the maiden flight of the 230-ton Boeing 777-300ER.
Scroll down for more...
Daredevil stunt: Captain Ian Wilkinson flew the passenger jet at 320mph, just 28ft above the runway - with the landing gear raised
The stunt was whooped and cheered by spectators at Boeing headquarters in Seattle, Washington, and the pilot was given a champagne toast after landing in Hong Kong.
But 55-year-old Captain Wilkinson was fired from his £250,000-a-year job with the Cathay Pacific airline after footage of the incident was posted on websites including YouTube.
An airline insider said: "He is a very senior captain nearing the end of a highly-distinguished career but he seems to have thrown it all away for a moment of madness."
Captain Wilkinson, who has lived in Hong Kong for 15 years, was the chief pilot for Cathay Pacific's Boeing 777 fleet and in charge of a team of hundreds. Among his 30 passengers on the fateful flight was the airline's British chairman, Chris Pratt, CBE.
After taking off from the Boeing plant, the captain wheeled the huge £100million jet around and swooped over the runway with undercarriage raised.
Scroll down for more...
The celebration of the maiden flight in Hong Kong: Captain Wilkinson is second right, his co-pilot third from right and chairman Pratt back, centre
He was congratulated on arrival at Cathay Pacific's Hong Kong HQ and even pictured in the airline newsletter raising a glass with executives in celebration of the maiden flight.
After film appeared on the internet, Captain Wilkinson was suspended ahead of a disciplinary hearing last week when he was dismissed.
His British co-pilot Ray Middleton, 47, who is understood to have taken instructions from Captain Wilkinson and to have been unaware that the fly-by was unauthorised, was suspended from training duties for six months.
Captain Wilkinson did not return calls for comment yesterday. He is understood to be considering an appeal against his dismissal.
A spokesman for Cathay Pacific said that the fly-by had been approved by air traffic controllers in Seattle after a call from the pilot but not by the airline, which was the reason Captain Wilkinson had been sacked.
Another senior pilot with the airline 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 Department got wind of it, that was the end of him.
"Maiden flights are treated as a bit of a jolly for executives with lots of champagne flowing and these fly-bys used to be done for a wheeze in the old days.
"But they are dangerous because however good the pilot thinks he is, he isn't trained for it and the planes aren't designed for it.
"Wilkinson was showing off, and most of the pilots might be sympathetic but they feel he got what he deserved when he was sacked."
DAILY MAIL and more photos
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/liv...n_page_id=1811
Top British pilot fired for performing 320mph 'fly-by' just 28ft off the ground - in a passenger jet
by SIMON PARRY - More by this author »
Last updated at 07:38am on 25th February 2008
Comments
Hurtling along at 320mph, the passenger jet was just 28ft above the runway - with its landing gear raised.
However, this was no emergency, but a stunt by one of Britain's most senior pilots.
Captain Ian Wilkinson performed the astonishing "fly-by" manoeuvre to entertain VIP passengers on the maiden flight of the 230-ton Boeing 777-300ER.
Scroll down for more...
Daredevil stunt: Captain Ian Wilkinson flew the passenger jet at 320mph, just 28ft above the runway - with the landing gear raised
The stunt was whooped and cheered by spectators at Boeing headquarters in Seattle, Washington, and the pilot was given a champagne toast after landing in Hong Kong.
But 55-year-old Captain Wilkinson was fired from his £250,000-a-year job with the Cathay Pacific airline after footage of the incident was posted on websites including YouTube.
An airline insider said: "He is a very senior captain nearing the end of a highly-distinguished career but he seems to have thrown it all away for a moment of madness."
Captain Wilkinson, who has lived in Hong Kong for 15 years, was the chief pilot for Cathay Pacific's Boeing 777 fleet and in charge of a team of hundreds. Among his 30 passengers on the fateful flight was the airline's British chairman, Chris Pratt, CBE.
After taking off from the Boeing plant, the captain wheeled the huge £100million jet around and swooped over the runway with undercarriage raised.
Scroll down for more...
The celebration of the maiden flight in Hong Kong: Captain Wilkinson is second right, his co-pilot third from right and chairman Pratt back, centre
He was congratulated on arrival at Cathay Pacific's Hong Kong HQ and even pictured in the airline newsletter raising a glass with executives in celebration of the maiden flight.
After film appeared on the internet, Captain Wilkinson was suspended ahead of a disciplinary hearing last week when he was dismissed.
His British co-pilot Ray Middleton, 47, who is understood to have taken instructions from Captain Wilkinson and to have been unaware that the fly-by was unauthorised, was suspended from training duties for six months.
Captain Wilkinson did not return calls for comment yesterday. He is understood to be considering an appeal against his dismissal.
A spokesman for Cathay Pacific said that the fly-by had been approved by air traffic controllers in Seattle after a call from the pilot but not by the airline, which was the reason Captain Wilkinson had been sacked.
Another senior pilot with the airline 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 Department got wind of it, that was the end of him.
"Maiden flights are treated as a bit of a jolly for executives with lots of champagne flowing and these fly-bys used to be done for a wheeze in the old days.
"But they are dangerous because however good the pilot thinks he is, he isn't trained for it and the planes aren't designed for it.
"Wilkinson was showing off, and most of the pilots might be sympathetic but they feel he got what he deserved when he was sacked."
DAILY MAIL and more photos
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/liv...n_page_id=1811
I Have Control
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Firstly, it was not his jet to play with! Further to that fact, I imagine accusations concerning liability, safety, the Habsheim accident, and CX airline regulations were levelled at the offending crew. But.....
I feel it is a very sad world we now live in, where acts of individuality are punished so severely. Cathay lose my business whenever I have a travel choice.
I feel it is a very sad world we now live in, where acts of individuality are punished so severely. Cathay lose my business whenever I have a travel choice.
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It's not his jet and it seems he was not authorised to do the manoeuvre.
I assume the people on here who are bleating about how life has changed have never been involved in the authorisation process required before manoeuvres such as this are carried out?
For others to liken it to a Go Around is taking the p
s. The Go Around is there to get you out of the poo. When are some pilots going to learn that just because they have a licence, it does not mean they are God?
Sacking may have been a little OTT, but it is the companies train set.
Would you guys who are bemoaning Cathay be happy to give someone the keys to your new Jag/Aston and then watch them tear it up around a racetrack?
I assume the people on here who are bleating about how life has changed have never been involved in the authorisation process required before manoeuvres such as this are carried out?
For others to liken it to a Go Around is taking the p
s. The Go Around is there to get you out of the poo. When are some pilots going to learn that just because they have a licence, it does not mean they are God?Sacking may have been a little OTT, but it is the companies train set.
Would you guys who are bemoaning Cathay be happy to give someone the keys to your new Jag/Aston and then watch them tear it up around a racetrack?
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Looks pretty Ho Hum to me. He had plenty of ground clearance. There was nothing unsafe about this manoeuvre. If anything the rotate on take off may have been close to limits.
Suppose B777 pilots will now have to all drop them in from above this height for every landing or face suspension!! One just has to get closer to the ground to land the things.
Does that tidy things up Hotdog?
Suppose B777 pilots will now have to all drop them in from above this height for every landing or face suspension!! One just has to get closer to the ground to land the things.
Does that tidy things up Hotdog?
Last edited by Milt; 25th Feb 2008 at 10:37.
The Reverend
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anotherthing, what a pathetic reply, I have flown with Ian Wilkinson for many years. A better and safer operator would be hard to find these days. There was nothing unsafe or unusual about this manouver. I find your comments difficult to believe for an F111 test pilot, as you claim to be.
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A go around is made with the gear down. You only raise the gear when you have a positive rate of climb. This was done at very low altitude with the gear up and passengers on board.
Worse it was done with his boss on board. How tactless is that? He may or may not be impressed - but why take the risk?
This was unauthorised. The captain made a bad decision. It would not be the first time that management (of any company) has sacked someone for doing something questionable when management could be questioned subsequentally if they did not sack him.
Worse it was done with his boss on board. How tactless is that? He may or may not be impressed - but why take the risk?
This was unauthorised. The captain made a bad decision. It would not be the first time that management (of any company) has sacked someone for doing something questionable when management could be questioned subsequentally if they did not sack him.