Air China has fired the pilots of a plane that suddenly plunged 6,000 meters when one of them decided to vape in the cockpit.
The terrifying incident happened last week on a flight from Hong Kong to Dalian, in northeast China. A pilot, smoking an e-cigarette, flipped what he thought were two air-recycling switches, a move that resulted in the plane briefly going into free fall.
Air China announced the results of its investigation in a statement on the Chinese social media website Weibo.
“After an investigation to verify the incident, the decision is to suspend the related crew from flying and terminate the contracts in accordance with the law,” it wrote. “The crew members who are responsible for the incident have been seriously dealt with.”
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has also revoked the vaping pilot’s license, and prohibited his co-pilot from flying for two years, China Central Television reported on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the airline will face penalties of its own. The CAAC has cut the carrier’s 737 flights by 10 percent. It has also ordered Air China to undertake a three-month safety overhaul, and pay a RMB50,000 (US$7,500) fine.
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