An incident involving two Air New Zealand pilots in the United States has been reported to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).<\/p>\n
The CAA would not comment further, saying the airline was responsible for employment matters relating to its staff, ”and CAA cannot comment on those matters”.<\/p>\n
The aviation watchdog says it considers all information brought to its attention, “and determine whether any regulatory action is required”.<\/p>\n
The statement by CAA stems from a public post in which allegations are made about an altercation between two pilots on a flight to San Francisco earlier this month.<\/p>\n
Air New Zealand refused to comment when details of the public post was put to them, telling RNZ: “We don’t have anything to add on this one.”<\/p>\n
The post alleges “a heated verbal disagreement erupted in the cockpit” which became a physical altercation between the pilots at their hotel in San Francisco.<\/p>\n
Passengers reported flight disruptions as a result, with flight departures from San Francisco to Auckland on September 6 and 7 cancelled.<\/p>\n
According to the online post – which was put to Air New Zealand – passengers were told that the pilot scheduled to operate their flight was no longer able to operate the service.<\/p>\n
“To get you on your way, we have arranged a replacement pilot, who is on their way to operate your flight to Auckland. Before they can do so, they are required to complete their mandatory minimum rest period.”<\/p>\n
The Airline Pilots Association told RNZ it was under instruction to refer inquiries to Air New Zealand.<\/p>\n