FAA Investigates Unauthorized Cockpit Visit During Rockies Chartered Flight

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and United Airlines have opened an investigation after a video surfaced on social media showing a Colorado Rockies coach in the cockpit during a flight chartered by the team to Toronto.

"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," United Airlines said in a statement. 

United also confirmed that both pilots have been sidelined while the investigation is ongoing.

(Bing Guan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

A now-deleted Instagram video posted by Rockies' hitting coach Hensley Meulens shows the 56-year-old sitting in one of the pilots' seats. In the video, he jokes about how he's going to land the plane, while another flight officer looks on from the cockpit's other seat.

The caption reads: "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."

(Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports)

The FAA confirmed its investigation to KDVR Denver, but noted they don't comment on the specifics of ongoing investigations.

Originally from Curaçao, Meulens played professionally from 1989-2000 in Major League Baseball, Japan and Korea. He was the San Francisco Giants' hitting coach from 2010-2019 — winning three World Series titles — and has since coached for the New York Mets and New York Yankees before joining Colorado's staff in November 2022.