‘Very grave’: Italian pilot allegedly fell asleep during New York to Rome flight

Bologna: A captain of Italy’s flagship state airline has been fired after he allegedly fell asleep at the controls, leaving traffic controllers unable to communicate with the plane for ten minutes.

According to the Italian daily Repubblica, both pilots of the ITA Airlines AZ609 passenger flight from New York to Rome on April 30 had dozed off at the controls of the Airbus 330.

Italian national carrier ITA.Credit:AP

The co-pilot was napping for a “controlled rest” as procedure allows, according to the report, but the captain is supposed to be awake and reachable.

ITA Airways, formerly Alitalia, is the new state-owned flag carrier airline of Italy, which the government reorganised after Alitalia formally declared bankruptcy last Autumn.

The communications blackout, which lasted for just over ten minutes while the plane was on autopilot, sparked a terror alert, with French air authorities contacting their Roman counterparts at 5.21am warning that a terrorist hijacking could be underway.

On Twitter, Michele Anzaldi, a centre-left lawmaker, called for an official apology from the state-owned carrier.

“What happened on the ITA flight from New York, where both pilots fell asleep, is very grave,” he said. “The company has a duty to guarantee that this will never happen again and must apologise to the passengers.”

While the internal investigation by ITA Airlines found grounds to fire the captain, who denies he fell asleep, it did not cite a specific reason for his mysterious radio silence.

The flight was on autopilot, flying at a normal speed and altitude, and never detoured from its route.

Passenger safety was never compromised, Davide D’Amico, an airline spokesman told The Daily Telegraph.

In a statement to The Telegraph, ITA said its internal investigation revealed behaviours by the captain were “not in compliance with procedure” during the flight and once it had landed.

The airline stressed “clearly and rigorously” that the safety of the flight was always guaranteed, thanks also to elevated technology on board.

Telegraph, London

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