Woman Poses as a Pilot on a Qantas Airlines Flight

A woman recently posed as a flight attendant on a Qantas Airlines flight from Dubai to Sydney and the Australia pilots' union isn't happy about it.

The pilots union claimed that the woman, who is a member of the ground crew, was dressed as a pilot as she flew from Dubai the Sydney, but the airline could not offer an explanation for why, the Herald Sun reports.

Richard Woodward, vice president of the Australian and International Pilots Association, wrote a letter of complaint which was given to lawyers. In the letter, he expresses his anger over the fact that a ground crew workers was allowed to access the cockpit.

"It was stupid. She was sitting in the cockpit for a large percentage of the flight," he said. "I think it was naive and silly."

Woodward claims that pilots in the union are angered over the incident. "It takes a lot of work to become a professional pilot," he said. "She came on dressed as a pilot."

The woman, who works on navigation plans, was booked on the flight but she didn't have a seat, so she was given a high-level access card to the cockpit. She was expected to sit in a crew seat, but that wasn't the case.

The woman was dressed as a pilot for not one, but two flights to and from Sydney. Woodward was concerned over possible scenario in which the woman may have been called on to help with the flight in the event of an emergency.

"There was a risk of confusion," he said.

Qantas spokesman Andrew McGinnes confirmed that the ground crew member was wearing parts of a pilot's uniform and he says the airline is investigating the incident further.

"We're examining precisely why this happened, however it's clear that the staff member was on the flight deck for operational reasons and was not in any way trying to deceive the flight crew, who knew the staff member wasn't a pilot," he told the Sun.

"The staff member had the proper security clearance and appropriate documentation to be on the flight deck and there is no suggestion of improper behavior on the aircraft," McGinnes added.