Pilot flew as captain on a few occasions

Pilot flew as captain on a few occasions - The Irish Times - Sat, Feb 12, 2011: "THE SPANISH pilot who died in the crash was on one of his first flights captaining an aircraft, his family said yesterday. Jordi Sola Lopez (31) was an experienced co-pilot, but had taken charge of an aircraft on only a few occasions, they said.

Family members in the pilot’s home town of Manresa, 40 miles from Barcelona, described his experience and flying history to local newspaper Regio7.

Mr Sola Lopez, an only son, studied at the Top Fly aviation school in nearby Sabadell, where he later worked as an instructor.

He went on to fly in the Canary Islands before taking his job with Air Lada, the company that owns the aircraft that crashed on Thursday.

The newspaper report said he had earned his captain’s licence some time ago, but added: “He has only been exercising this rank for a few days and yesterday’s flight was one of the first in which he had acted as captain.”"