Sometimes, it doesn’t pay to break the rules. A pilot in China just lost his job after the airline he worked for found out that he allowed a woman inside the cockpit mid-flight. For this, he was suspended from flying with the airline for life.While this happened in January, management only found out about it over the weekend, after the woman’s photo of herself inside the cockpit went viral on Chinese social media platform Weibo on Sunday, November 3, according to China Daily.The woman was identified as Chen Yuying, a third-year student at Guilin Tourism University. According to posts from her social media accounts, she is studying to be a flight attendant.Chen’s viral photo shows her sitting inside the cockpit, with what appears to be a set of tea cups. "Many thanks to the captain. It's so thrilling," her caption read.
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In a statement posted on Air Guilin’s Weibo account on November 4, the airline said that the photo was taken on a flight between Guilin, in southwestern China, and Yangzhou in the east, on January 4.The airline added that the pilot had violated procedure and air safety regulations.“Air Guilin always attaches great importance to passengers’ safety, and we have ‘zero tolerance’ for any improper and unprofessional conduct," it said.It also said that they have “decided to ban the pilot from flying for life” and that “the other crew members have been suspended from flying indefinitely pending further investigations.”This is not the first time this happened. A Donghai Airlines pilot allowed his wife to enter the cockpit on two flights in July last year, resulting in his suspension for six months.Find Edoardo on Twitter and Instagram.