United Airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are investigating an incident involving a Colorado Rockies hitting coach who appeared in a video seated in the cockpit during a chartered flight on April 10, ESPN reported.
United and the FAA have initiated investigations after a video surfaced on social media showing Rockies hitting coach Hensley Meulens in the pilot’s seat of a chartered flight while airborne from Denver to Toronto, according to ESPN.
“Had some fun in the cockpit on our flight from Denver to Toronto. Thanks to the captain and the first officer of our United charter that allowed me this great experience,” Meulens wrote in a caption for the social media post, ESPN stated. The video, which has since been removed, captured Meulens in the pilot’s chair during the flight.
The Colorado Rockies are under investigation by the FAA and United Airlines after a video showed hitting coach Hensley Meulens in the cockpit of the team’s charter mid-flight.pic.twitter.com/raRrpPBJzY
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) April 19, 2024
The incident caused United to suspend the pilots involved pending further investigation. Russell Carlton, a spokesperson for United, expressed concern over the security lapse.
“We’re deeply disturbed by what we see in that video, which appears to show an unauthorized person in the flight deck at cruise altitude while the autopilot was engaged,” Carlton said, ESPN reported.
The airline emphasized that allowing a non-crew member into the cockpit during flight contradicts their stringent safety and operational rules. This breach has also attracted scrutiny from the FAA, though the agency has refrained from commenting on ongoing investigations, ESPN stated. (RELATED: MLB Player Suggests The Rockies Change Their Mascot’s Name After Fan Gets Falsely Accused Of Using Racial Slur)
In the aftermath, Meulens was absent from the Rockies’ clubhouse and unavailable for comments, according to ESPN. Rockies manager Bud Black, however, shared that Meulens had expressed remorse over the incident.
“Bam-Bam, he apologized,” Black said, ESPN. reported “I can’t comment really any further because of what is being called an investigation of the matter. As far as Bam-Bam goes, he apologized to the Rockies, apologized to United, apologized to the team.”