According to La Repubblica, the captain of the flight from New York to Rome was fired after an altercation.

ITA pilots become unresponsive on flight to Italy

The registration code for the flight from New York to Rome was EI-EJP. The flight reached French airspace.

There was no response from the pilots of AZ609 when air traffic control tried to communicate in the early morning hours of May 1. Air traffic controllers communicate with pilots on a regular basis, and any lapse in communication is of concern.

One pilot was allowed to sleep briefly in the cockpit during this time, and there were two pilots. Only one pilot was supposed to be awake at the controls.

The controllers tried to make calls to the pilots, but they didn't work out. The airline tried to send a message to the pilots via ACARS, but the controllers reached out to them. French military fighter jets were sent to look into the cockpit after not getting a response there.

The situation ended when the pilots became responsive at .

What ITA’s investigation revealed

An investigation was conducted by ITA Airways after the incident. The first officer was allowed to sleep briefly, and that means the captain should have been more attentive.

The captain denied that he fell asleep. He claimed that there were problems with the plane's communication systems. Some equipment from the plane was also inspected, but no issues were found.

The decision to sack the captain was made after an investigation. The airline claims that safety is the top priority, and that passengers weren't at risk during the incident, which is true in the sense that the autopilot can fly the plane, but also not true, because the whole reason we need pilots is to respond in a split

Bottom line

The captain of the New York to Rome flight was terminated after the pilots fell asleep. Fighter jets were deployed when pilots stopped responding to calls from air traffic controllers in French airspace.

The captain is responsible for not being responsive when the first officer was allowed to rest. The captain claimed that there were issues with the plane's communications systems. An investigation didn't find any problems there.

What do you think about the incident?