KARACHI: Apropos a story headlined `PIA pilot grabs some shut-eye leaving aircraf t in hands of trainee` published in Dawn on May 7, Amir Akhtar Hashmi, the pilot, has issued a contradiction.

In his statement on Monday, he said all major airlines on long sector scheduled one extra nonrated co-pilot to accompany the rated co-pilot so that the captain could take a nap out of the cockpit.

In the flight mentioned in the story, he said, both co-pilots were rated on B777, adding that despite this fact he did not leave the cockpit for more than a few minutes.

He said the picture published with the story was an old one and that in that flight he was of ficially travelling as a passenger.

The purser in her report about the Islamabad-London flight on which the story was based said that a passenger had complained about the sleeping pilot. The management accepted her report as well as the allegation levelled by the passenger and the purser against her boss (captain) and took him off flying duties.

A PIA spokesperson also conceded that an inquiry into the report was under way.