A Virgin Atlantic pilot was fired on the spot after airline bosses came upon she was moonlighting and dealing for one more airline on her days off.
First Officer Danica Theuma flew for Virgin, which operates a strictly lengthy haul route community.
Unbeknownst to the corporate, she was additionally piloting planes for KM Malta Airways which flies to 17 locations round Europe.
The utmost flying time for a industrial pilot is 100 hours of flight time in any month, or 900 hours per calendar yr, in line with Britain’s Civil Aviation Authority.
Whereas worldwide requirements are comparable, the restrictions utilized in Europe and the UK are amongst the strictest on the earth to make sure pilots don’t grow to be considerably fatigued with compulsory relaxation durations to make sure they’re able to focus correctly.
First Officer Danica Theuma, a pilot for Virgin Atlantic pilot has been fired on the spot after airline bosses came upon she was moonlighting and dealing for one more airline on her days off
Theuma was a coaching pilot on a Virgin Atlantic Airbus A330 plane, pictured (file photograph)
However Theuma, in a significant breach of air security and professionalism, appeared to place the security of her passengers on each airways in danger – opting as an alternative to work additional flights on days when every airline believed she would have been resting and on a time off.
Theuma was sacked instantly by Virgin Atlantic after they came upon about her twin employment solely by probability.
In the meantime, Malta’s new state-funded air provider, KM Malta Airways, initially suspended her however has since reinstated her to the cockpit, permitting her to proceed to fly for the airline.
A veteran pilot informed The Shift each pilot at KM Malta Airways is conscious of the incident with many aghast that the flag provider determined to maintain her on the books.
Extremely, Theuma was capable of juggle her schedule between each airways that might see her making a prolonged three-and-a-half hour commute from Malta again to London Heathrow, earlier than embarking on one other abroad journey with Virgin.
Virgin’s long-haul route community means the typical flight instances are round 10 hours.
It’s believed Theuma had been doing double responsibility at each airways since a minimum of December 2023, till she was caught in Might.
Theuma, left, as an alternative of observing her compulsory relaxation durations, was utilizing the time to journey to London Heathrow to fly Virgin Atlantic planes out of Heathrow Airport
First Officer Theuma continues to be employed working for KM Malta Airways the place she flies Airbus A320 plane, pictured (file photograph)
Fatigue has been confirmed to be a contributory consider a lot of air accidents and incidents over the yr, however its penalties for aviation security are sometimes underestimated.
In keeping with a Time Journal examine, 18 hours with out sleep can have the identical impression on the human physique as severely as heavy consuming.
A current report by the European Cockpit Affiliation additionally famous how satisfactory sleep and relaxation are important to permit the physique to recharge.
‘Sleep deprivation may cause confusion, disorientation and hallucinations, which aren’t welcomed in a cockpit or in a flight security programme,’ the ECA wrote.
‘Certainly, as sleep deprivation will increase, the likelihood of error will increase and security is compromised. A fatigued particular person usually can not diagnose an issue and decide as to the best way to rectify it.’
Theuma broke worldwide security guidelines that impose strict regulatory constraints relating to responsibility instances and relaxation durations to make sure passenger and crew security
Danica Theuma is seen receiving her airline transport pilot license (ATPL) principle certificates at Malta Aviation Museum in December 2017
Virgin Atlantic informed DailyMail.com that Theuma had been coaching with the airline however that their contract was terminated throughout their coaching interval.
A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson stated, “The security and safety of our prospects and our crew is at all times our high precedence. While we’re unable to share full particulars of instances, we are able to verify that the person’s contract was terminated throughout their coaching interval as they didn’t meet the excessive requirements we require.
‘Throughout their coaching interval, we had been unaware that the person was employed elsewhere.’
No remark has been made by KM Malta Airways or the pilots union, ALPA, regardless of being absolutely conscious of Theuma’s conduct.
