hensley meulens toronto flight

MLB hitting coach under investigation over shocking video shot on Toronto flight

The Colorado Rockies are the subject of a U.S. federal investigation after hitting coach and former MLB ball player Hensley Meulens posted a shocking video to social media captured on a team flight bound for Toronto.

A since-deleted video posted to Meulens' Instagram account shows the Rockies' 56-year-old hitting coach sitting in the pilot's seat of a United Airlines flight that the team chartered to Toronto for a three-game series against the Blue Jays from April 12-14.

In the clip, Meulens can be heard joking about how he was going to land the plane, as a flight officer seated next to him looks on smiling and makes no visible effort to shut down the stunt.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has announced that it is conducting an investigation into the incident, and the operator of the charter flight has issued a statement condemning the dangerous incident.

In a statement shared with KUSA Denver, a spokesperson for United Airlines said that the airline is "deeply disturbed by what we see in that video," referring to Meulens as "an unauthorized person in the flight deck" and that his presence in the cockpit was "a clear violation of our safety and operational policies."

United has stated that the incident occurred when the aircraft was at cruising altitude with autopilot engaged, suggesting Meulens was not in control of the aircraft.

Lead photo by

@hensley31/Instagram


Latest Videos



Latest Videos


Join the conversation Load comments

Latest in Sports & Play

Canada's Wonderland opens for the summer this week with new attractions

Sid Seixeiro calls Leafs 'children' and refuses to watch Game 5 of series

YouTube yoga influencer coming to Toronto this summer for massive outdoor class

The top tennis players in the world are coming to Toronto this summer

Toronto has a luxurious new indoor saltwater lap pool but it'll cost you to use it

Toronto's next go-kart track planned to open in the heart of downtown

Rogers Centre exterior is looking worse for wear despite $400M renos inside

Fans think rich people killed the vibe at Toronto Maple Leafs' playoff game