Jetstar flight attendant faces investigation for ‘posing’ as a pilot

A flight attendant for the Australian carrier Jetstar is facing some hefty discipline for being caught sitting in the captain’s seat during a recent flight.

A bunch of photos of the FA, sitting up front and smiling away, were leaked to an Australian news site.

No one knows who took the photos. But the person who leaked them said the FA’s presence in the pilot’s seat created several risks for the flight.

Now, before everyone rushes off to blame some crazy FA or Jetstar itself for needlessly putting passengers at risk, another pilot tells me that this happens all the time.

The FA really isn’t impersonating a pilot. For pilots to use the restroom, a FA has to sit in the cockpit before the second pilot is allowed to leave, in order to keep the cockpit’s vault-like door closed. Most pilots will tell you that they do not like it when the FA chooses to sit in the captain’s seat (they can usually choose the jump seat), and most airlines have a policy that they cannot sit in the captain’s seat. But sometimes they jump into the seat before anyone can object.

Is this a big deal? A lot of pilots will tell you: no.

In fact, I’m told you can ask any FA and they’ll tell you they have ridden in the Big Dog’s seat before.

I wonder if our own FA extraordinaire Heather ever has….


Click on the pictures below to read about “wild women in the air.”