Qantas grounds 2 pilots who quarreled in cockpit
Rod McGuirk, The Associated Press, Canberra, Australia | odd world | Tue, August 21 2012, 3:36 PM
Qantas Airways Ltd. has grounded two pilots who reportedly quarreled in the cockpit of their Boeing 747 jet at a Dallas airport last week.
Qantas said Tuesday that the captain and second officer were grounded pending an investigation. It declined to detail the pilots' behavior.
The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper said the pilots had a heated argument over what takeoff calculations to enter into the plane's computer. An Australian aviation official confirmed the report. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case.
The newspaper said flight managers heard about the argument after deciding to delay the flight overnight because weather delays had put the pilots close to their 20-hour duty limits. The jet left the next day with two replacement pilots.
