Plane diverted 300 miles back home because pilot wasn't qualified to land

A pilot with 30 years experience told passengers "I am not qualified to land the plane" as he approached a runway in fog.

Speaking over the tannoy, he said he was unable to touch down in Paris because he had not yet passed his low-visibility training to land that particular aircraft in such conditions. Instead he turned the plane round and flew back to Cardiff.

Startled passengers on the Flybe flight BE1431 from Cardiff were given the news as the plane approached Charles De Gaulle airport.

A spokesman for Flybe said the pilot had flown several different passenger aircraft types: "He has relatively recently transferred his 'type-rating, from a Bombardier Q300 to a Bombardier Q400.

"He has not yet completed the requisite low-visibility training to complete a landing in conditions such as the dense fog experienced in Paris Charles de Gaulle.

"The captain therefore quite correctly turned the aircraft around and returned to Cardiff; a decision which the company stands by 100 per cent."