Grounding for pilots in cockpit row

AUSTRALIAN airline Qantas has grounded two pilots who got into a fierce argument on the flightdeck of a jumbo jet in Dallas, Texas, last week.

Qantas said the captain and second officer were grounded pending an investigation. It declined to detail their behaviour.

The Sydney Morning Herald said the pilots had a heated ­argument over what take-off calculations to enter into the plane’s computer.

It said flight managers heard about the row after they decided to delay the plane overnight because weather delays had put the pilots close to their 20-hour duty limits. The jumbo, flight QF8 from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport to Brisbane on 14 August, left the next day with replacement pilots.

An Australian aviation official confirmed the report. “It got to a point where the two of them didn’t feel they could work together,” said the official.

The 8,600-mile direct flight from Texas to Australia is close to the limit of the jumbo’s flying range.