- A Colorado Rockies coach was filmed in a United Airlines cockpit mid-flight, reports say.
- A video appeared to show Hensley Meulens cracking jokes with others on the flight deck.
Federal aviation officials have launched an investigation after a viral video appeared to show a Colorado Rockies coach making a cockpit visit during a United Airlines charter flight last week, said reports.
It is against federal safety regulations, made more strict following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, for unauthorized people to be in the cockpit during a flight, said the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
In the video, the Rockies hitting coach, Hensley Meulens, appears to be sitting in one of the two pilot seats while the plane is flying from Denver to Toronto at cruising altitude. He cracks jokes with other people on the flight deck.
"Flying the plane, here to Toronto," Meulens says as he gestures toward a pilot sitting beside him.
"I'm going to land the plane tonight. So relax," he said. Meulens then reaches toward the flight controls and makes as if to take hold of the steering wheel, saying, "I just press this button — and it goes down."
The Colorado Rockies are under investigation by the FAA and United Airlines after a video showed hitting coach Hensley Meulens in the cockpit of the team’s charter mid-flight.pic.twitter.com/raRrpPBJzY
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) April 19, 2024
The video was originally posted to Meulens' social media but has since been deleted.
"Had some fun in the cockpit on our flight from Denver to Toronto," the post's caption read, according to The Denver Post. "Thanks to the captain and the first officer of our United charter that allowed me this great experience."
United told Business Insider in a statement: "We're deeply disturbed by what we see in that video, which appears to show an unauthorized person in the flight deck at cruise altitude while the autopilot was engaged."
United Airlines said it was a clear violation of its safety and operational policies, and the incident had been reported to the FAA, which removed the pilots from service during the investigation.
An FAA spokesperson told BI: "The FAA is investigating this event. Federal regulations restrict flight deck access to specific individuals."
Some airlines allow cockpit visits, but only when the plane is on the ground.
The Rockies' manager, Bud Black, told The Denver Post that Meulens had apologized to the team and United Airlines and that the incident would not affect his employment with the club.
"I can't comment really any further because of the investigation of the matter," Black said.
The news comes after United suffered a cascade of issues last month. On March 4, United Flight 1118 from Houston to Texas was forced to turn around after one of the plane's engines caught fire after take-off. Three days later, one of the airline's flights from San Francisco to Japan lost a tire during take-off and was forced to make an emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport.
A post-flight inspection revealed that United Flight 433 from San Francisco to Oregon on 15 March had lost an external panel. The aircraft was an older model Boeing 737-800. The plane landed safely without any issues: the external panel had been discovered missing only after the fact.