NEW YORK (WCBS 880) -- A Virgin Atlantic flight headed to John F. Kennedy Airport was forced to turn back because its co-pilot was not qualified to fly due to an incomplete final assessment, according to the airline.
Just 40 minutes after the Flight VS3 had departed London on Monday, the two pilots were informed of a "rostering error," that lead to the flight having to return to London, an airline spokesperson said.
Due to a rostering error, flight VS3 from London Heathrow to New York-JFK returned to Heathrow on Monday 2 May shortly after take-off, " a Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said.
According to Virgin Atlantic, the flight's captain was not a designated trainer and was not qualified to fly with a co-pilot who had not completed Virgin Atlantic training protocols.
"The qualified first officer, who was flying alongside an experienced captain, was replaced with a new pilot to ensure full compliance with Virgin Atlantic's training protocols, which exceed industry standards.
The co-pilot was replaced with a new pilot to ensure full compliance with Virgin Atlantic's training protocols.
A spokesman for the UK regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority, said that Virgin Atlantic "has made us aware of the incident. Both pilots were suitably licensed and qualified to undertake the flight."
The airline added that the decision to turn back was prompted because the situation was not compliant with Virgin Atlantic's internal training protocols.
Customers arrived two hours and 40 minutes later than scheduled as a result of the crew change.
"We apologise for any inconvenience caused to our customers, who arrived two hours and 40 minutes later than scheduled as a result of the crew change," the airline said.
