A Fighter Jet Nearly Bypassed The Airbus A330 Because The Pilot Did Not Respond For 10 Minutes!

A chaotic incident occurred on ITA Airways flight AZ609 from New York to Rome where the pilot did not respond to the air traffic control centre for more than 10 minutes while crossing French airspace, resulting in a terrorist alert.

During the disconnected period, the aircraft did not deviate from its intended route or change altitude.

While there were no hazard issues during autopilot, any extended period without monitoring cannot be considered safe.

Because the pilots did not respond, French authorities issued a warning to Italy about possible terrorist incidents.

Guards stationed in Marseille repeatedly tried to call the plane as it took off from Bordeaux air traffic control to Marseille, but there was no response.

At 5:21 a.m. (local time), French air authorities contacted an Italian counterpart, who then contacted ITA Airways central command.

The ITA Airways centre attempted to contact the pilot directly via satellite phone, followed by ACARS. However, there was no response. Those in charge were forced to order fighter jets to accompany the A330.

"At that point, the plane was in autopilot mode, flying at normal speed and altitude and never deviated from the route." "Passenger safety is never jeopardised," stated an ITA Airways spokesperson.

After a desperate attempt to contact the plane failed, the two pilots finally responded about 10 minutes later, and fighter jet escort instructions were no longer required.

The Airbus plane continued its flight to Rome and landed without incident.

The Airbus A330 co-pilot took a break during the May 1 incident, which is common practise on long-haul flights.

So only the captain was flying the plane, but he fell asleep while it was in autopilot mode. The captain was fired, but the unnamed pilot denied it, blaming the faulty communication system.

However, the investigation found inconsistent pilot information because the technicians found no damage after performing tests on the aircraft system.