Politicians join campaign to reinstate suspended beef pilot
VIDEO: A campaign to reinstate a coastguard helicopter pilot from Shetland who was suspended after detouring to pick up a consignment of beef has received the support of local politicians.
A campaign to reinstate a coastguard helicopter pilot from Shetland who was suspended after detouring to pick up a consignment of beef has received the support of local politicians. A petition urging CHC Helicopter, which operates aircraft under contract to UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), to reinstate pilot Steve Gladstone has received nearly 2,000 signatures at the time of writing, including those of Member of the Scottish Parliament for Shetland P. Tavish Scott and his Orkney counterpart Liam McArthur.
Gladstone was suspended after mobile phone footage showed him landing an MCA helicopter in a field near a butcher’s shop after a training flight. He and his crew then emerged, picked up a £400 order of premium beef and flew back to their base. Although CHC helicopter has claimed that the ‘non-revenue’ portion of the flight wasted no taxpayer funds, a spokesperson said that ‘we expect high standards of professionalism from all our employees, and if we find these have not been met, we will take the appropriate action’.
The butcher involved, Thorfinn Craigie, is said to be ‘horrifed’ by the decision to suspend Gladstone, and Liam McArthur called the decision ‘heavy-handed’: “There was no cost to the taxpayer and no obvious risk to the public or those involved. The right thing to do now would be for CHC and the [MCA] to confirm that the pilot is being re-instated without delay.”
Video linked from The Telegraph