Cathay Pacific chief under fire for stunt

HONG KONG, March 2 (UPI) -- The chairman of Cathay Pacific is under fire for being in the cockpit of the Hong Kong airline's new jetliner when it buzzed a runway in Seattle.

Briton Christopher Pratt was in a jump seat behind pilot Ian Wilkinson when he performed the 320 mph swoop within 28 feet of the ground on the Boeing 777's maiden flight Jan. 31, the Daily Mail reported Sunday. The stunt cost the pilot his job.

Pratt initially was thought to have been in the passenger cabin and unaware how close to the ground they came during the fly-by at Boeing's Seattle airport, the British newspaper reported.

Wilkinson, one of Britain's most experienced pilots, was fired from his nearly $500,000 job Feb. 21 following an internal disciplinary hearing. Co-pilot Ray Middleton, 47, was suspended from training duties for six months, the newspaper said.

"It makes our airline look like a bunch of cowboys," one airline official was quoted as saying. "Not only did they fly very low over the runway in a passenger jet that isn't made for such stunts, but they also had two pilots standing at the back of the flight deck while it happened."