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Rome ; Aprolonged lack of communication between the cockpit of the plane and the French control center, perhaps due to a fall asleep, an alarm triggered and therefore, once on the ground, an explanation that does not stand up to internal investigation.
For this reason, the commander of the Ita flight from New York to Rome Fiumicino on 30 April was fired by the company, which spoke of a breakdown of the “relationship of trust” even though she was quick to specify that the safety of the flight “has always been guaranteed “.
The episode took place in the middle of the night between April 30 and May 1 and can be framed in the series called Ploc (Prolonged Loss Of Communication), i.e. an absence of communication of more than 10 minutes. Infrequent but possible episodes which, in fact, involve a series of procedures at an international and internal level. After entering the French airspace, the Ita plane, after 5 in the morning, did not respond to requests from the French control center which alarmed the Italian counterparts and the company whose control center then managed to get in contact. At that moment in the cabin, which in the flights to Ny has two pilots and not three like long-haul flights of greater duration, one of the two, the first officer sleeps as per procedure but the other, the commander, does not respond. .
On a theoretical level, it is emphasized, these are not very rare cases in situations where long distances and the effects of jet lag can be felt, especially on personnel of an older age and less accustomed to long haul. In the case in question, however, there would not have been, explains Ita, an alarm that would trigger the take-off of the air defense fighters: “There is no evidence relating to external air activity during the flight in question” the company pointed out. After the plane’s arrival at Fiumicino, an internal investigation was launched and here, in fact, “strong inconsistencies between the statements made by the Commander and the outcome of the internal investigations” on the functioning of the on-board equipment emerged. Hence the dismissal for the flight commander.
