Suspended: Captain pictured SLEEPING in flight and leaving trainee in control of jet

A senior pilot has been suspended after he was pictured fast asleep on board a plane he should have been flying. Captain Amir Akhtar Hashmi is accused of putting passengers’ lives at risk by leaving a trainee at the controls of a packed jet with 305 passengers to nap in a business class seat. Hashmi allegedly slept for two-and-a-half-hours on board the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight from Islamabad to London on April 26. A passenger, who filed a complaint with the airline, took a picture of the sleeping pilot and shared the snap on social media. According to Pakistani newspaper Dawn, PIA was initially reluctant to act against Hashmi, who is the former president of the Pakistan Air Lines Pilots Association (PALPA), “but later caved in to pressure from above”.               

Photo: Dawn.com