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A Virgin Atlantic passenger plane was sent several miles off course and into oncoming thunderstorms as part of a test for a trainee air traffic controller. Virgin Atlantic officials are investigating the incident in which a Virgin Boeing 747 was rerouted at least 70 miles out of its way over the southern part of the USA. An American air traffic control union official said the Virgin plane, and three others, were sent into an area where there were storms. But the USA's Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) assures there were no thunderstorms in the area over the Florida-Georgia border and that the planes were directed only 33 to 50 miles out of their way. The FAA also said that passengers were not endangered. The other aircraft were reported to be a Delta Boeing 757 and two Boeing 737s flown by American airline Southwest. A union official said the four planes were travelling en route to Orlando airport in Florida when they were rerouted inland on orders from an air traffic control supervisor who wanted to test the skills of a trainee.  The planes were directed at least 60 to 70 miles out of their way into an area of airspace known as the 'Alma sector' where there were storms on Saturday, the official said.  He said pilots would have had to 'zigzag' to avoid the storms, adding extra miles to their trip. The official said that besides rerouting the flights, the supervisor also ordered a veteran controller to leave the four flights 'stacked' at varying altitudes above 30,000 feet rather than bringing them all down to 30,000 feet and stringing them out in a line, as would be the normal practice before reaching the Alma sector. It is believed the supervisor told controllers he wanted to leave the planes stacked so the trainee could practice unstacking them. The supervisor also ordered a veteran controller to tell one of the four pilots to report an incorrect altitude to see if the trainee would catch the mistake. A spokeswoman for Virgin Atlantic in the UK said: 'We are investigating this incident with the FAA. 'The safety and welfare of our crew and passengers is Virgin Atlantic's top priority and at no point during this flight were passengers put at risk.'