Virgin Atlantic pilot makes shock admission AFTER take-off forcing New York flight to turn around

A VIRGIN Atlantic plane was forced to turn around shortly after departing because a pilot in the cockpit was unqualified to fly.

The Airbus A330 jet, carrying around 300 passengers, was nearly 40 minutes into its journey from London to New York on Monday when the two pilots on board became aware of the major error.

The flight was forced to head back to London after it was discovered that the co-pilot had not completed his training.

The co-pilot needed to complete his final assessment flight with a training captain before he could co-pilot a Virgin Atlantic plane according to the company's policy.

That person was in charge of maintaining the safety of the flight, communicating with air traffic control and flying the plane, if needed.

Passengers on the flight were frustrated after eventually making it to their destination several hours later than planned.

Passengers on the flight didn't receive a refund for this inconvenience.

Customers were only entitled to a refund if they arrived at their destination four hours late, if the flight was over 3,500 miles, and if the airline was responsible for the delay.

The trip from London to New York was only 3,440 miles, according to the outlet.

The airline blamed this situation on an clerical error

Once the flight was on route back to London, passengers on the plane ,that was landed on the Tarmac, had to wait approximately 30 minutes until another qualified co-pilot was located.

'We were not allowed off the plane while we sat on the Tarmac for what was about another half an hour for re-fueling, and what I now know replacement of the co-pilot.' a passenger told the outlet.

'The skipper had no choice but to go back to Heathrow and find a more experienced member of the crew. It was embarrassing for everyone and the passengers were furious.' another passenger told the outlet.

The company offered an apology to the passengers affected by this error.

Sources close to the situation said that the airline company is reviewing its internal processes and will update them to avoid this mistake from happening again.

Even though the first co-pilot was able to fly the aircraft, they were not in compliance with Virgin Airlines internal training policies

The first co-pilot was recommended to take his final assessment after completing 12 recent flights, classroom training, and a simulator exercise.