Pilot's gun goes off in cockpit during packed Easter flight
Last updated at 20:41 24 March 2008
A gun carried by a pilot accidentally went off on a packed passenger plane, it has emerged.
The pilot on the U.S. Airways flight had been allowed to carry the weapon under anti-terrorism precautions.
It went off in the cockpit of the flight from Colorado to North Carolina on Saturday.
Scroll down for more ...
The gun went off on a US Airways Airbus like this one
Officials said none of the 124 passengers or five crew of the Airbus A319 was injured and the plane landed safely.
>
Authorities in the United States have launched an immediate inquiry into the potentially disastrous incident.
Luckily, none of the 124 passengers and five crew members on the flight from Denver to Charlotte, North Carolina, was injured, according to US federal officials and the airline.
The US Airways Airbus A319 plane landed safely in Charlotte, according to a statement issued by the airline.
The incident occurred on Saturday on full flight 1536, which was in the air between 6:45 and 11:51 a.m., according to US Airways officials.
The pilot, who was not identified, was allowed to carry the gun through the U.S. Federal Flight Deck Officer programme run by the Transportation Security Administration, officials said.
The programme trains pilots to carry guns on flights as part of American's anti-terrorist protection policy. It was launched in 2003.
The circumstances of the incident remain unclear. TSA spokeswoman Andrea McCauley said the gun discharged in the cockpit, but she could not release how the gun was being transported at the time.
The TSA issued a statement saying that the plane was never in danger but that the agency and Federal Air Marshals Service take the matter seriously and it is receiving immediate attention.
An airline spokeswoman said the plane has been taken out of service to make sure it is safe to return to flight.
Officials said that the pilot was re-qualified in the programme last November.
Most watched News videos
- 'My father won't speak to me': Prince Harry's astonishing interview
- Horrifying moment TikToker is shot dead on livestream
- Buckingham Palace statement after Harry's bombshell interview
- Prince Harry: It's 'impossible' to bring Meghan and kids to UK
- Harry to write to Home Secretary after losing UK security bid
- Jacinta Price LOSES IT at ABC host in explosive clash
- Brit wakes up with Chinese accent after stroke
- Harry LOSES appeal in battle for taxpayer-funded police protection
- Meghan Markle shares rare photo of Harry with Archie and Lilibeth
- Huge expansion of weight-loss drugs planned in the UK
- Bali plunged into mass island-wide blackouts
- Trump orders new Air Force One jet following Boeing's order failure
