An EasyJet pilot who flew too close to a mountain on a flight from Manchester Airport to Egypt has been suspended
Reports say that as the Airbus A320 captained by Paul Ellsworth descended, the ground proximity warning system (GPWS) — a safety feature warning of a potential collision — was triggered in the cockpit. The pilot was forced to pull up the jet and level it.
According to the Sun newspaper an alert rang out ‘pull up, terrain, terrain, pull up, pull up, terrain ahead, pull up’ and a dramatic last-gasp manoeuvre – pulling on the joystick to level off the plane – saved up to 190 passengers and crew on-board.
The Airbus A320 flew over the mountain range at an altitude of just 3,100ft and sources told The Sun that the jet was descending at a blistering speed of 4,928ft per minute.
The airline suspended Elsworth from flying himself back to the UK, instead sticking him on a flight as a passenger.
A source said: ‘Within moments of the flight drama being raised, officials stepped in and Paul Elsworth was forbidden from piloting the plane. Another flight crew brought the jet home.
