The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and United Airlines have launched an investigation involving a chartered flight that was transporting the Colorado Rockies from Denver to Toronto.
Rockies hitting coach Hensley Meulens posted a video on social media that showed him sitting in the pilot’s seat in the cockpit while the plane was in the air, ESPN reported.
“Had some fun in the cockpit on our flight from Denver to Toronto. Thanks to the captain and the first officer of our United charter that allowed me this great experience,” Meulens wrote in a caption for the social media post.
The Colorado Rockies are under investigation by the FAA and United Airlines after a video showed hitting coach Hensley Meulens in the cockpit of the team’s charter mid-flight.pic.twitter.com/raRrpPBJzY
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) April 19, 2024
United Airlines responded to the video by saying in a statement: “We’re deeply disturbed by what we see in that video, which appears to show an unauthorized person in the flight deck at cruise altitude while the autopilot was engaged.”
“As a clear violation of our safety and operational policies, we’ve reported the incident to the FAA and have withheld the pilots from service while we conduct an investigation,” the statement added.
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The FAA said that it opened an investigation, but that it will “not comment on the details of open investigations.”
“Federal regulations restrict flight deck access to specific individuals,” the FAA added.