Het Laaste Nieuws reports on Tuesday that a Brussels Airlines plane with around one hundred passengers on board was intercepted in full flight by a French fighter plane after it lost all contact with air traffic control. It turned out the pilot had fallen asleep and his co-pilot hadn’t been answering calls from air traffic controllers. Although the incident happened on June 28 of this year the Belgian air navigation authorities have only just closed their inquiry into the matter. According to French authorities the Brussels Airlines Airbus A319 was flying from Spain to Zaventem with dozens of tourists on board. "The plane landed in Zaventem without incident but an official inquiry was opened", said Wencke Lemmes, Brussels Airlines spokesperson. A well-informed source stated that the first investigation revealed that the co-pilot had also fallen asleep. But the airline denied this. "The co-pilot did not respond to the calls by air traffic control because he thought they were trying to get in touch with another plane". (Source: Belga)
Brussels Airlines plane intercepted by French fighter plane
