Pilot sacked after he let singer fly a plane with passenger

A Mexican pilot flying between the Mexican city of Cancun and the Capital city has been fired after he let a local singer Esmeralda Ugalde, 23 into the cockpit and permitting her to fly the plane.

Pictures of Ugalde and her actress friend  Samadhi Zendejas, 19 , taken by the captain went viral as it appeared on Twitter after Ugalde shared it with her 40,000  followers.

Company spokesman Jorge Badia confirmed that the captain who allowed Miss Ugalde, sister of Latin Grammy Award winner Ana Barbara, and Miss Zendejas to enter the cockpit had been sacked.

He said: 'We cannot allow a pilot to make this kind of mistake, it is just not allowed. Even if the autopilot was working it is not allowed to do something like this. We cannot even allow people to enter the cabin, even if they are actors or actresses.

'We are a serious company and we are deeply saddened about the fact that one of our staff behaved in this way. Flight law dictates visitors are not allowed to enter the cabin during the flight.'

Strict rules imposed following the September 11 terrorist attacks mean pilots are not allowed to let any passengers into the cockpit for any reason