Security
Pilots Held in Guinea Freed from Jail, but in Detention
No information is available about when they might be released
CBS News interview with Brad Schlenker
CBS News was able to interview pilot Brad Schlenker, who is being held in detention in Conakry, Guinea, along with his copilot Fabio Nunez. © CBS News Chicago

Two pilots who were forcibly detained and held in jail after landing their Gulfstream IV in West Africa on December 29 have since been released on bail but are still being held in detention, according to information provided to AIN. Pilots Scott Schlenker and Fabio Nunez were flying a Brazilian family and landed at Ahmed Sékou Touré International Airport (GUCY) in Conakry, Guinea, for a tech stop. News reports claimed that the pilots were arrested for allegedly landing without authorization and violating the country’s airspace.

According to a CBS News Chicago interview with Schlenker from his hotel in Conakry, where he is being detained, the pilots had all the necessary permissions for the refueling stop. “We received our clearance, we took off, we showed up over here, talked to tower, talked to ATC. Bottom line is, they cleared us to land.”