Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific dismisses 3 trainee pilots after incidents go unreported in US

Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific dismisses 3 trainee pilots after incidents go unreported in US

Three cadet pilots have been dismissed from a training programme for Hong Kong’s flagship carrier Cathay Pacificafter damage sustained by planes during training went unreported at a US pilot school.

Cathay announced on Wednesday in a statement that three cadet pilots had been “removed” from its pilot training programme over their non-compliance with incident reporting requirements at AeroGuard Flight Training Center in Arizona, in the US.

Aircrafts parked near the Cathay Pacific building. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

The decision was reached after investigations conducted by the pilot school and Cathay, the statement read.

“A just and open reporting culture is at the centre of our values… we recognise that mistakes will occur, particularly during training, and that opportunities to learn and improve must never be overlooked,” Chris Kempis, Cathay’s director of flight operations captain said in the statement.

“However, we have a zero-tolerance approach to non-compliance with flight incident reporting requirements,” Kempis added.

(From left to right) Cathay Chief Pilot (Airbus) Captain Geoffrey Lui, Cathay Director Flight Operations Captain Chris Kempis and Cathay Deputy Flying Training Manager Captain Joe Fung. File photo: Kelly Ho/HKFP.

Bloomberg reported earlier this month that AeroGuard had suspended all solo flights for Cathay cadets due to “an alarming increase in solo incidents during cadet training.”

Citing a memo seen by Bloomberg, the article said the incidents were not minor. “One wingtip collision with a fixed object, one bounced landing leading to a substantial prop strike on the runway and most recently, a complete runway excursion. While each situation was unique, in each case the concern was the same — required consultation did not occur.”

In two of the three instances, “the students failed to properly report the damage,” Bloomberg reported.

AeroGuard Flight Training Center. Photo: AeroGuard.

Cathay said on Wednesday that all solo flights for Cathay’s cadets at AeroGuard had resumed with immediate effect.

AeroGuard signed an agreement with Cathay in 2022 to help train several hundreds of pilots per year. According to AeroGuard’s website, the pilot school will support the carrier in two programmes: one for those with no prior flight experience, and another for pilots looking to convert their licenses to the Hong Kong standard.

800 cadets by 2024

Cathay Pacific has been trying to tackle a pilot shortage since Covid-related travel curbs were lifted.

A significant number of pilots resigned since the company introduced a pay cut in October 2020, leading to a loss of trust and moral among Cathay Pacific aircrew, HKFP reported last year.

The carrier said in 2022 that it aimed to train and hire 800 cadet pilots by the end of 2024.

Cathay held a graduation ceremony for the first group of cadet pilots since the pandemic in June 27, 2023. Photo: Cathay Pacific.

In 2023, the Cadet Pilot Programme opened its door to mainland Chinese applicants for the first time since its launch in 1988.

On Wednesday, the carrier said the training programme maintained “an extremely stringent recruitment and assessment process,” with less than eight per cent of the applicants being accepted onto the programme and able to complete the training and assessment to becoming a second officer – the lowest pilot rank.

“The Cathay Group’s rebuild and training schedule remain on track,” the statement reads.

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