Extraordinary footage of a ‘woman passenger at the controls of an aircraft during a scheduled flight’ is being investigated by Russian prosecutors.
A video has just been published online showing the woman – named Anna – in the co-pilot’s seat apparently flying a plane over Siberia.
The pilot’s voice is heard giving the instructions to the passenger who is believed to be in her late 20s and without flying qualifications.
Press reports said the flight was with Russian airline IrAero involving an Antonov-24 flight from Yakutsk to Batagai.
The flight was reportedly made on August 31 2019, but the video has only just emerged now.
The woman posted pictures and video on Instagram after the flight – but these have now been deleted.
She said ‘This was unbelievably cool’ and ‘Thank you!’.
Russian 5-TV channel reported the pilot’s name as Kirill S, and the woman was described as his ‘girlfriend’ but also a ‘very close friend’.
If it was a scheduled passenger flight, it is not known how many people were on board.
Transport prosecutors in the region of Yakutia are investigating the video while IrAero airlines said it has begun a ‘thorough check’ into the allegations.
IrAero is an airline based in the Siberian city of Irkutsk operating flights within Russia and internationally.
