Pilot Caught Sleeping On A Dubai-Hong Kong Flight

A Cathay Pacific Airlines captain was photographed taking a nap in the control room of a passengers flight from Dubai to Hong Kong.

Don’t you freak out just yet. The company is taking disciplinary measures. Not against the pilot though, but against the person who took the photo.

Turns out this nap is completely normal. It’s called “controlled rest” and it is permitted in exceptional circumstances on long flights. As long as it doesn’t last more than 40 minutes. During which the co-pilot would be in full charge of the plane.

What is not permitted on the other hand, is taking pictures inside the cockpit of the airplane. Which is believed to have been done either by the co-pilot or a flight attendant (the angle looks like the person was in the co-pilot’s seat to me). Who then sent it to a journalist to be published in a newspaper.

The Dubai-Hong Kong flight is approximately 8 hours long. I wouldn’t blame the poor pilot for needing some sleep. What is more worrying is the fact that the immature co-pilot was in control of the flight during the nap.