27.7.2008
COLOMBO - SRI Lankan police on Sunday
detained a German man on suspicion that he used false documents
to secure a job as a top pilot for Sri Lanka's national
carrier, a spokesman said.
Mr
Ranjith Gunasekara said the man had been flying for the
company for 10 months before an internal probe found he
was only qualified as a co-pilot, and not as a captain
of a wide-bodied airliner.
'We
are going to take over all the documents from personal
files for our investigations', Mr Gunasekara said.
'The
German national is now being held by the airport police'.
There
was no immediate comment from Sri Lankan airline, which
until April this year was fully-managed by Emirates of
Dubai.
Sri
Lankan airline sources said the German national was discovered
when a junior pilot, who had been sent for routine training
on a bigger Airbus A-340, noticed that the 'captain' was
uncomfortable with the controls.
However,
he had still captained Sri Lankan flights to European
destinations including London, Frankfurt and Paris, as
well as Dubai, the sources said. -- AFP
Courtesy - straitstimes