Pilot asleep on the job

A CAPTAIN is under investigation for taking a nap during an international flight and handing the aircraft over to a trainee pilot.

Reports say Pakistan International Airlines captain Amir Akhtar Hashmi handed over the reins to the under-training first officer, Ali Hassan Yazdani, and took a 2.5-hour kip in the business-class cabin.

According to sources, the airline was initially reluctant to take action against Mr Hashmi, a former president of the highly influential Pakistan Air Lines Pilots Association, but later caved to “pressure from above”.

Sources said more than 300 passengers were on the Islamabad to London April 26 flight.

Neither co-pilot reported the incident to management in order to protect Mr Hashmi from an inquiry, a local newspaper reported.