Parents say captain was an excellent, experienced pilot

THE parents of the captain killed in the Cork air disaster insist he was an excellent pilot and urge people not to blame him for the tragedy.

Jordi Sola Lopez, 31, died with five others when the Fairchild Metroliner aircraft he was in crash landed in heavy fog at Cork Airport last month.

In a report published yesterday, initial findings of the investigation reveal there were no mechanical failures in the aircraft.

But the Spaniard’s parents say that their son was an experienced pilot who had successfully landed the plane in similar conditions the day before the tragedy.

Speaking for the first time since the crash, mother Rosa Lopez said: “Jordi loved his job and loved flying. Although he had only captained a few flights he had flown hundreds of times as co-pilot on exactly the same aircraft.

“He also sat in the captain’s seat on the left of the aircraft on many occasions, effectively doing the job of captain.

“He loved flying the Metroliner, it was the plane he knew best, and it’s unfair to describe him as inexperienced.

“The day before the accident Jordi did exactly the same thing. He made two aborted attempts to land in fog and the third one was a success.

“The investigation is still going on and people should not leap to blame Jordi for what happened.”

Speaking at the family home in Manresa, 65km from Barcelona, the pilot’s father Toni said: “Jordi loved his job, loved flying, and never complained about anything. He never said he felt under any pressure from his bosses.”