Video appearing to show MLB coach inside cockpit of Toronto-bound flight prompts probe

Federal transportation officials in the United States are investigating an unauthorized in-flight cockpit visit by a coach for the Colorado Rockies baseball team during a United Airlines charter flight last week from Denver to Toronto.

Video surfaced this week that appears to show Rockies hitting coach Hensley Meulens sitting in a pilot's seat while the April 10 flight was at cruising altitude. It is against U.S. regulations for unauthorized people to be on the flight deck.

He can be seen and heard on the video joking with other people in the cockpit — including a person in a pilot's uniform and at least one other person who does not appear to be an airline employee — and says the plane is at 35,000 feet (10,670 metres).

"Flying the plane, here to Toronto," Meulens says as he gestures toward the person in uniform sitting next to him.

"I'm going to land the plane tonight. So relax," he says. He then reaches toward the flight controls and pretends to take hold, saying, "I just press this button ... and it goes down."

Meulens posted the video on social media and later deleted it, but it had already gone viral and was re-posted, the Denver Post reported. He could not immediately be reached for comment through the Rockies' administrative offices.

United has suffered a series of problems in recent weeks, including a piece of aluminum skin falling off a plane, a tire dropping off another during takeoff and an engine fire. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has stepped up its oversight of the carrier, and the airline's CEO has sought to reassure travellers the airline is safe.

A United spokesperson said it was conducting its own investigation of the flight. The airline said the cockpit visit was "a clear violation of