Pilots fired for letting 'Playboy' playmate fly plane
Two Argentinian pilots have been fired for inviting model Victoria Xipolitakis — who has posed for the Greek edition of Playboy magazine — into the cockpit, and letting her fly the plane, reported Mashable.
Austral Líneas Aéreas, a domestic Argentinian carrier, announced in a statement about the firings that Xipolitakis would be banned from the airline for five years, it said.
In addition to firing the pilots and banning the model, Austral announced forthcoming criminal proceedings against the three "for putting the flight’s safety at risk." There were 36 passengers on the Embraer jet.
From Austral's statement:
In relation to the events that took place during the Austral flight 2708 on Monday June 22, Aerolineas Argentinas and Austral state that the pilots Patricio Zocchi Molina and Federico Matias Soaje were removed from their activities on this day and will be dismissed as well as the rest of the staff with responsibility in this event... the passenger will be prevented from flying for five years on Aerolineas and Austral flights by virtue of the right of admission available to the company.
Xipolitakis spent most of the flight from Buenos Aires to Rosario, Argentina, in the cockpit with pilot Zocchi and copilot Soaje. She took six videos during the flight, which have been leaked:
#Rosario ✈️ pic.twitter.com/RLJOvnBCbd
— Viky Xipolitakis (@VXipolitakisOK) June 24, 2015
In the video, one of the pilots tells Xipolitakis she will control the plane for part of the takeoff.
"You sure?" she asks. "Nothing could happen?"
Xipolitakis apologized on Twitter, saying in Spanish that she was sorry for the pain she had caused, and that it was not an example of her character.
Some passengers on the plane may also take legal action, according to Fox News Latino.
"The company confirms its continuing commitment to safety and the respect for operational and safety policies and protocols," the airline said. "The behavior of the pilots, also rejected by their professional association, is totally opposed to the operational safety culture of Austral Líneas Aéreas."
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