Airport starts probe after journalist gets into cockpit

An investigation was underway today at one of Britain’s busiest airports over claims that a journalist and photographer got into a passenger plane’s cockpit.

The pair sat at the cockpit controls in the pilot’s seat of a 737 belonging to the cut-price airline Go, a British tabloid reported today.

The plane was undergoing maintenance in a ‘‘controlled’’ area of Stansted airport in Essex and was not due to fly again until Saturday.

Two security staff who were on duty at the hangar have been suspended while an investigation is carried out.

The news-team drove into the staff car park of maintenance firm FLS Aerospace at the airport before walking into the hangar, it was claimed.

They walked past a security office without being asked for identification and spent an hour in the hangar and in the plane, the newspaper reported.

A Go spokeswoman said: ‘‘We are taking this alleged breach of security extremely seriously and we have launched a high level investigation with FLS and the British Airports Authority to find out why it happened.

‘‘Heightened security was immediately put in place to ensure it could not be repeated.

‘‘The aircraft concerned was undergoing routine maintenance in an unrestricted but controlled area of the airfield and would have been required to have a full security check before being permitted to return to service on Saturday.’’

The alert came amid heightened security concerns in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, in which four passenger planes were hijacked.

A spokeswoman for FLS Aerospace said the alleged security breach was being investigated.

"The security personnel who were on duty have been suspended without prejudice pending an investigation,’’ she said.

‘‘We have implemented heightened security measures at the base, the aircraft has been triple-checked based on this alleged breach, and it would have undergone a normal full security check on completion of its maintenance.’’

BAA and Stansted Airport were unavailable for comment.

Chris Yates, editor of the specialist publication Jane’s Aviation Security, told the tabloid: ‘‘Given the events of September 11, it is appalling that non-airport staff should have been able not only to gain access to the sensitive airside of Stansted airport but also to board aircraft unchallenged.’’