17 hours Ago By [email protected] (Phoebe Tonks)
An EasyJet pilot has been suspended after narrowly avoiding an in-air catastrophe by flying too close to a mountain with 190 passengers on board. Captain Paul Elsworth was grounded by authorities following the incident on February 2, which took place as the plane descended towards the Red Sea resort of Hurghada in Egypt. The Ground Proximity Warning System in the cockpit was triggered and dramatically sounded an impending crash warning.
As the alert rang out sounding “pull up, terrain, terrain, pull up, pull up, terrain ahead, pull up” a potentially deadly tragedy was narrowly averted by a last-gasp manoeuvre which involved pulling on the joystick to level off the plane. The GPWS alert is a special safety measure put in place to avoid such catastrophes, and is recognised as a last resort to prevent a controlled flight into terrain. During the flight, the Airbus A320 was moving at an altitude of just 3,1000ft over the mountain range, meaning that at certain parts of the flight, the peak of the mountain was only 771ft away from the twin-jet aircraft.
Normally, pilots would clear the mountain range at almost double the altitude the aircraft had been flying, with a typical altitude of around 6000ft. According to sources, the jet had been descending at 4,928ft per minute, which has been dubbed “ridiculously unsafe,” before the GPWS sounded and it levelled out, reports The Sun. Experts also went on to reveal that the aircraft, which had originally taken off from Manchester , should have been travelling much slower and with a shallower rate of descent.
An official investigation is now due to take place to understand the circumstances surrounding the near miss of Flight EZY2251, and will also include how Capt Elsworth registered the safety scare, one day after it occurred on February 3. According to reports, the Captain registered the incident just before he was due to leave the crew hotel and head to the airport ready to pilot his flight back to Manchester Airport. However, EasyJet officials escalated the incident within minutes due to it’s severity.
At present, no blame has been apportioned for the incident, but in line with current protocol, airline bosses have temporarily banned Capt Elsworth from flying while a full investigation takes place. 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.
"The pilot will be asked detailed questions. The GPWS only sounds when a plane is heading into terrain - in this instance a mountain. Passengers on-board are understood to have been oblivious to the scare, and unaware of just how close they came to the mountain range as the plane descended into Egypt.
” The Civil Aviation Authority is waiting to review how the incident is investigated by EasyJet bosses - including how the airline “manages their risk’. Speaking about the incident EasyJet said: “Safety is the number one priority for all our pilots, they are trained to the highest industry standards, subject to rigorous testing and monitored closely. The flight landed normally and as we have an ongoing investigation, the pilot remains stood down from duty in line with procedures.
The latest news isn’t the first time Capt Elsworth has hit the headlines, as he previously featured as a proud dad back in 2016, when his son Luke famously became the youngest professional pilot at the age of 19, after following in his dad’s footsteps. Speaking at the time he said: “Luke has worked really hard. I have as much confidence in Luke flying as I have in myself—and I’ve been doing this for 32 years.
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