China Airlines pilot caught sleeping at controls of 747

Video footage of a senior pilot sleeping in his seat while flying a China Airlines 747 has surfaced in Taiwan, and the aviation company says that the pilot has already been punished for breaching flight safety regulations.

EBC News broke the story yesterday and published the 13 second footage of the flight captain snoozing on the job, noting that sleeping in the cockpit is a breach of Taiwan’s aviation regulations.

The pilot is said to be a chief officer with the airline with almost 20 years experience, and also serves as a flight instructor in charge of flight simulator testing. While unnamed in some reports, TVBS alleges that the pilot’s surname is Weng ( 翁 ).

The incident occurred before the recent strike by China Airlines pilots, who complained that they suffered fatigue from long working hours.

China Airlines said that the co-pilot who filmed the incident instead of immediately waking the senior pilot up, also breached air safety regulations, and has also been punished.

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Sources: EBC News,

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