A strange United Airlines charter incident from 2024 is back in the news after two pilots were fired when a Colorado Rockies coach ended up in the captain’s seat during flight.
As One Mile at a Time has noted, the captain and first officer were terminated after video emerged showing a Rockies coach sitting in the left seat on a United charter. The captain says she had left the flight deck to use the lavatory and that the coach entered the captain’s seat without her permission. The first officer has now also spoken out, describing a charter culture in which he was told by both an experienced captain and charter flight attendant that leaving the cockpit door open and allowing team personnel into the flight deck was normal on sports charters.