Sign up to create alerts for Instruments,
Economic Events and content by followed authors
Free Sign Up Already have an account? Sign In
Quotes
All Instrument Types
- All Instrument Types
- Indices
- Equities
- ETFs
- Funds
- Commodities
- Currencies
- Crypto
- Bonds
- Certificates
Please try another search
Donate to earthquake relief efforts in Turkey and Syria Donate
Mexican airline Volaris fires pilot who recorded near-crash
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A Volaris airplane prepares to land on the airstrip at Benito Juarez international airport in Mexico City, Mexico, May 9, 2022. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido/File Photo
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican airline Volaris fired a pilot who filmed two of the carrier's planes nearly crashing at Mexico City's international airport in May, as the pilot broke airline rules by using a phone when she was not allowed to, Volaris said on Friday.
The pilot, Libertad Salmeron, acknowledged in interviews that she broke the "sterile cabin" guidelines, but insisted she had asked her superior for permission to record the video and warned the pilots involved in the near-crash that the runway at Benito Juarez International Airport was occupied.
The video, which Salmeron said she recorded as she was waiting on one runway to take off, shows a Volaris plane coming close to landing on top of another plane.
"Volaris ended its working relationship with First Official Salmeron for not guaranteeing the fulfillment of sterile cabin procedures and the... care of our clients," the airline said in a statement.
Sterile cabin procedures apply to anything below 10,000 feet, said independent aviation analyst Jose Suarez. Pilots are only allowed to focus on the task at hand to limit distractions, he said.
However, Suarez added the rule is frequently broken, noting Salmeron had her plane's brakes in place, meaning she posed no risk.
Volaris "is looking for a reason to justify the firing of this pilot," Suarez said. "Yes, there's the issue of 'sterile cabin,' but the real question is, is that really why she lost her job?"
Pilots union ASPA, which represents workers at rival airline Aeromexico, said in a statement it was "worried" about Salmeron's firing and that she had subsequently joined the union.
Aeromexico declined to confirm whether Salmeron had since joined the company.
Related Articles
Add Chart to Comment
Confirm Block
Are you sure you want to block %USER_NAME%?
By doing so, you and %USER_NAME% will not be able to see any of each other's Investing.com's posts.
%USER_NAME% was successfully added to your Block List
Since you’ve just unblocked this person, you must wait 48 hours before renewing the block.
Report this comment
I feel that this comment is:
Comment flagged
Thank You!
Your report has been sent to our moderators for review
Add a Comment
We encourage you to use comments to engage with other users, share your perspective and ask questions of authors and each other. However, in order to maintain the high level of discourse we’ve all come to value and expect, please keep the following criteria in mind:
Enrich the conversation, don’t trash it.
Stay focused and on track. Only post material that’s relevant to the topic being discussed.
Be respectful. Even negative opinions can be framed positively and diplomatically. Avoid profanity, slander or personal attacks directed at an author or another user. Racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination will not be tolerated.
Perpetrators of spam or abuse will be deleted from the site and prohibited from future registration at Investing.com’s discretion.