Amid their worst start in franchise history, the Colorado Rockies’ bumpy season hit more turbulence this week when the Federal Aviation Administration and United Airlines opened an investigation into an April 10 flight chartered by the Rockies in which video appeared to show a Colorado coach sitting in the pilot’s seat.
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The since-deleted video, posted to Instagram by coach Hensley Meulens, was captioned, “Had some fun in the cockpit on our flight from Denver to Toronto. Thanks to the captain and the first officer of our United charter that allowed me this great experience.”
Colorado traveled to Toronto for a three-game series against the Blue Jays from April 12 to April 14.
In a statement, the FAA confirmed it is investigating the incident.
“Federal regulations restrict flight deck access to specific individuals. We do not comment on the details of open investigations,” an administration spokesperson said.
United Airlines suspended the pilots involved in the flight while it investigates, it said.
“We’re deeply disturbed by what we see in that video, which appears to show an unauthorized person in the flight deck at cruise altitude while the autopilot was engaged. As a clear violation of our safety and operational policies, we’ve reported the incident to the FAA and have withheld the pilots from service while we conduct an investigation,” United said.
The Rockies did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Meulens is in his second season as Colorado’s hitting coach. He had previous coaching stints with the San Francisco Giants, New York Mets and New York Yankees. Meulens also coached the Netherlands in the 2004 Summer Olympics, the 2009 World Baseball Classic and was manager of the team for the 2013 WBC and the 2020 Olympic Baseball Qualifier.
As a player, Meulens spent parts of seven seasons in MLB, playing 159 games across five seasons with the Yankees before stints with the Montreal Expos and the Arizona Diamondbacks. His most memorable moment came with the Netherlands in the 2000 Summer Olympics, when he led the team to a historic upset over Cuba.
In 2012, Meulens was awarded by Netherlands Queen Beatrix the recognition of Knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau. He was honored at a ceremony at AT&T Park later that year, where he was introduced as ‘Sir’ Hensley Meulens.
The Rockies, 4-15 after a loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday, are back at home against the Seattle Mariners on Friday.
(Photo: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
