Pilots BOTH fall asleep while flying plane
A pilot has admitted to falling asleep at the same time as his co-pilot during a flight, just days after it was reported that two Virgin Atlantic pilots suffered "severe fatigue" and had to take turns resting on a Transatlantic flight to the UK.
The pilot says he and his co-pilot were coming to the end of a long overnight shift and were due to land a freight plane to Spain.
The pair both fell asleep shortly before landing.
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, the pilot 'John' confessed: "Basically, I woke up and looked across to find my first officer was asleep as well.
"I just woke up so we both must have been asleep for what I can only imagine was a short period of time. But regardless we had both been asleep for a short while in control of the aeroplane.
"We both just looked at each other and thought 'oh crikey that wasn't good.'"
According to the Daily Mail, there were no passengers or crew on board as they were flying a freight plane.
A recent report revealed that more than half of pilots have fallen asleep on the flight deck.
The survey by Balpa found that of the 56 per cent who admitted nodding off, as many as 29 per cent said they awoke to find the other pilot asleep.
Related articles
Pilot dies after mid-air heart attack
Video: Drunk man attacks pilot
