Air India pilots fight:Air India Reportedly Grounds Pilots Over In-Cockpit Fight
Air India pilots fight:Air India Reportedly Grounds Pilots Over In-Cockpit Fight, Air India has grounded two of its pilots after they apparently got into a fight just before takeoff Sunday night on a flight from Jaipur to New Delhi.
The extent of the altercation remained unclear Monday morning, but the confrontation was intense enough that the struggling Indian carrier moved to ground both the captain and co-pilot. Citing "numerous" unnamed sources, The Times of India reports "the co-pilot abused and beat up the commander."
Air India officials acknowledged the altercation, but denied that it became physical.
"There were only heated exchanges between the commander and co-pilot over some issue," an Air India spokesman told the Press Trust of India. "We have already derostered the two pilots pending an enquiry."
Physical or not, the confrontation did not stop the pilots from operating the Sunday evening flight on the Airbus A320. The Times of India says the pilots should have reported the incident in Jaipur instead of continuing to New Delhi. One of the newspaper's unnamed sources says the pilots went ahead with the flight "in the larger interest of the airline."
The incident, of course, is likely to draw extra scrutiny after crash of Germanwings flight 9525 in the French Alps last month. In that incident, French investigators say they believe the co-pilot of Germanwings Flight 9525 deliberately crashed the plane after locking the captain out of the cockpit.
As for Air India, the incident is just the latest in a string of embarrassing incidents for the airline. The carrier has drawn frequent criticism for poor management and meddling by its owner – the Indian government.
News agency AFP sums it up by writing: "Air India - which has not reported an annual profit since 2007 - has been hit by a string of technical glitches and other embarrassing incidents, including staff turning up late for flights."
The extent of the altercation remained unclear Monday morning, but the confrontation was intense enough that the struggling Indian carrier moved to ground both the captain and co-pilot. Citing "numerous" unnamed sources, The Times of India reports "the co-pilot abused and beat up the commander."
Air India officials acknowledged the altercation, but denied that it became physical.
"There were only heated exchanges between the commander and co-pilot over some issue," an Air India spokesman told the Press Trust of India. "We have already derostered the two pilots pending an enquiry."
Physical or not, the confrontation did not stop the pilots from operating the Sunday evening flight on the Airbus A320. The Times of India says the pilots should have reported the incident in Jaipur instead of continuing to New Delhi. One of the newspaper's unnamed sources says the pilots went ahead with the flight "in the larger interest of the airline."
The incident, of course, is likely to draw extra scrutiny after crash of Germanwings flight 9525 in the French Alps last month. In that incident, French investigators say they believe the co-pilot of Germanwings Flight 9525 deliberately crashed the plane after locking the captain out of the cockpit.
As for Air India, the incident is just the latest in a string of embarrassing incidents for the airline. The carrier has drawn frequent criticism for poor management and meddling by its owner – the Indian government.
News agency AFP sums it up by writing: "Air India - which has not reported an annual profit since 2007 - has been hit by a string of technical glitches and other embarrassing incidents, including staff turning up late for flights."
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Air India pilots fight
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