Qantas has stood down two pilots after the pair reportedly got into a heated argument in the cockpit of a Boeing 747 on the tarmac in Dallas.
According to reports, the captain and second officer came to loggerheads over takeoff calculations as the jet waited out a thunderstorm ahead of a flight to Sydney via Brisbane last Tuesday.
Qantas confirmed that the two pilots were being withheld from service pending an investigation.
The flight, QF8, arrived in Brisbane some 18 hours late after being held in Dallas overnight. Qantas said the flight was held up because of delays caused by the storm, not because of the argument between the pilots.
The incident comes less than a month after a Qantas captain was removed from operational duties after testing positive for alcohol prior to a flight from Sydney to Brisbane.
