Exclusive | US training centre for Hong Kong’s Cathay halts cadet solo flights after serious blunders
- Cadets putting themselves in ‘potential danger’ and ‘not meeting expectations’, according to email sent to students by US training facility
In an email obtained by the Post earlier and confirmed by Cathay Pacific on Thursday, AeroGuard Flight Training Centre vice-president and head of training Jay Meade told cadets he had been forced to ground the flights pending an investigation after three mishaps in as many weeks.
Meade said the incidents – a wingtip collision with a fixed object, a bounced landing leading to substantial impact on the aircraft propeller and a complete runway excursion – were serious. The latter refers to a plane inappropriately departing from a runway during take-off or landing.
“AeroGuard has seen an alarming increase in solo incidents during cadet training. In three separate incidents over the past three weeks we have discovered damage to AeroGuard aircraft that has occurred at cross-country destination airports,” he wrote.
Cathay told the Post that it acknowledged the events as reported by AeroGuard at the facility in Phoenix, Arizona.
