A Spanish military aircraft pilot who admitted almost causing a mid air collision with a B.A. passenger aircraft on Saturday tested negative for mandatory alcohol and drugs tests on his return. The pilot explained to the Gibraltar authorities that he had thought he was flying as a co-pilot even after it was explained to him that the aircraft did not have a co-pilot. The pilot, Jose Maria Mendez Gomez was banned from flying near United States or British military or civilian Airfields until he had undergone a recognised pilot training course in the U.S. or U.K.
Increasingly Spanish pilots are learning to fly by correspondence course and need bringing up to speed at high tech course centres such as at the U.S. base in Rota or the Gibraltar Euro fighter training facility. Gomez claimed to have been kicking a loose light fitting in the Spanish Conceptor Jet and did not notice the Rock of Gibraltar as he was not wearing his flying spectacles at the time. Spanish pilots are to receive additional training at recognised Euro bases in future, Prime Minister Mariana Rajoy told a Nato staff executive this morning. "Please accept our apologies for our our grave error of judgement" he added.
