Reports Indicate He Cited An 'Unbearable Schedule' Flying For The Airline

The pilot of the FlyDubai airliner that went down Saturday in Russia fatally injuring all 62 people on board was flying one of his final flights, according to a Russian media outlet.

The U.K. newspaper The Daily Mail reports that the pilot, 37-year-old  Aristos Sokratous of Cyprus, had tendered his resignation to FlyDubai citing an "unbearable schedule" with the low cost airline. He reportedly had signed on with Ryanair, and was scheduled to return to Cyprus soon.

A former FlyDubai captain who requested anonymity told the Russian news service RT Novosti that Sokratous was resigning because of the schedule. "He was too tired, going to work fatigued, and that is actually why he had resigned," the source said.

The Russian news outlet said it had obtained the flight log for the co-captain of the flight, Alejandro Cruz Alava, which showed he had worked flown 11 days in a row with only one day off prior to the to the accident.

Sokratous had previously worked for Helios airways, a Cypriot airline that folded after a 2005 accident which fatally injured 121 people. He had been promoted to Captain by FlyDubai 18 months ago, according to a friend.

The newspaper The National reports that Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has ordered aviation officials to examine that country's flight safety rules to see if any changes need to be made following the accident.

(Image from file)

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