Virgin Atlantic LHR to JFK Flight Does An About Face; Replaces First Officer

In an interesting twist that Virgin Atlantic referred to as a ‘rostering error, an international flight that has just departed Heathrow Airport (LHR) in the United Kingdom bound for John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK) in the USA did an about face and returned to base.

Some 30+ minutes into the flight, it was discovered that the First Officer (FO) who was almost lucky enough to get the chance to experience the aircraft (perhaps the Boeing 787-9 or Airbus A350-1000 as that is what they seem to be using for that route) had not completed a ‘final flight assessment.’ Virgin Atlantic further added that the ‘pairing of pilots’ (like cheese or protein and wine) did not meet their already high standards that exceeds industry!

Apparently, the lucky FO has been with Virgin Atlantic for over 5 years, and the Captain was a 17-year veteran. Despite the turnaround and re-rostering, the flight was almost 3 hours late. Since no other information was provided, it’s possible the FO didn’t have enough training to handle emergencies or land the thing.

Thge indsutry has its share of some incredulous stories, one in particular where a private pilot, having spent time in a jet simulator, was able to begin working as FO, later promoting to Captain, and accumulating over 10,000 hours of time flying commercial airlines. If you’ve had a chance to see the movie ‘Catch Me If You Can’, which is based on a true story, you’d be forgiven for thinking that with all the security checks and other hoops one has to jump through today it couldn’t possibly happen.

FMI: https://virginatlantic.com