TOKYO - Japan Airlines Corp. said Monday it has reprimanded a
pilot for allowing a cabin attendant to sit in the captain's seat
and pose for photographs during a flight.
The c0ckpit photo session did not affect the safety of JAL Flight
422, which was on autopilot at cruise altitude, carrying 176
passengers and 14 crew members from London to Osaka on Dec. 3, last
year, airline spokeswoman Yuko Takahashi said.
The female attendant, 28, briefly sat in the captain's seat and
placed her hands on the controls. The pilot, 45, encouraged her to
do so after she entered the cockpit to serve him and the co-pilot
soft drinks while flying above Siberia, about six hours after take
off.
The incident surfaced late last year after the company was tipped
off by an employee who heard the rumor, Takahashi said.
After more than two months of investigation, the airline verbally
reprimanded the captain and the cabin attendant over their
inappropriate act and reported the incident to the Transport
Ministry in late February, Takahashi said.
The co-pilot, 34, was also reprimanded verbally for his failure to
intervene.
JAL called their acts "imprudent behavior" and apologized in a
statement. "We deeply regret what has happened," JAL said,
promising to take steps to prevent recurrence of similar
problems.
Source:MSNBC.com
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The above kinda reminds me of Aeroflot A310.
Security has gotten tighter especially after 911 incident. As such,
under normal circumstance, is there any policy/regulation stating
that only qualified personnel can occupy the pilot's seat (during
flight) from local carriers or CAAS?
And in any case, should the non flight crew (eg: cabin crew) be
allowed to hold the flight yoke?
