An easyJet pilot has been suspended after he flew a plane packed with 190 people so dangerously close to a mountain that he nearly crashed into it.
Captain Paul Elsworth was temporarily banned from flying after his plane flew too close over a mountain range as it travelled to Egypt on February 2, triggering a Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS) alarm in the cockpit.
The plane, travelling from Manchester to the Red Sea resort of Hurghada, was very close to crashing as it descended for landing and could have potentially killed the 190 passengers and crew on-board, reported The Sun.
The alert rang out ‘pull up, terrain, terrain, pull up, pull up, terrain ahead, pull up’, and only a last second manoeuvre by the pilot to pull up the joystick levelled the Airbus A320 and avoided the mountain range.
Pilots normally clear the mountain range at an altitude of 6,000ft. But Mr Elsworth allegedly flew over the 2,329ft peak at 3,100ft.
On top of this, a sources told The Sun, the jet was descending at a blistering speed of 4,928ft per minute. The aircraft should have been travelling slower and with a shallower rate of descent, experts said.
Captain Paul Elsworth (right) previously made headlines in 2016 after his son Luke (left) became Britain’s youngest professional pilot at just 19
The newspaper reported that Mr Elsworth, 61, only registered the incident the following day, before he was due to leave Hurghada and fly back to Manchester.
But easyJet officials, recognising the severity of the incident, escalated the report within minutes of receiving it.
Though investigators have not officially blamed anyone for the incident, easyJet bosses immediately suspended Elsworth from flying himself back to the UK, flying him back as a passenger instead.
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.
EasyJet aircraft pictured at the departure gates of Manchester Airport (file image)
‘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.’
Mr Elsworth previously made headlines in 2016 after his son Luke became Britain’s youngest professional pilot at just 19.
The pilot said at the time of his son, who now flies for British Airways: ‘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.’
An easyJet spokesperson told MailOnline: ‘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.’
