India pilots in mid-air 'scuffle'

[Patriot]

Pilots and cabin crew have come to blows on an international flight bound for India, media reports say.

The scuffle is said to have begun as an argument in the plane's cockpit over claims of sexual harassment but spilled into the galley, startling passengers.

One pilot and one air hostess suffered bruises, as punches were thrown.

The incident took place over Pakistan on an Air India flight from the United Arab Emirates to Delhi, with 106 passengers and seven crew on board.

Indian police are investigating the incident, which took place at around 0430 local time on Saturday (2300 on Friday GMT).

The cabin crew alleged that pilots sexually harassed a 24-year-old air hostess, who filed a complaint once the plane landed.

But the Times of India newspaper said the pilots made a counter-claim, saying that the harassment claim was an attempt to divert attention from accusations of misconduct against a male flight attendant.

Air India said it had ordered an inquiry into the incident, and had grounded all the staff involved.
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I am glad they have not accused ISI yet.
BBC NEWS | South Asia | India pilots in mid-air 'scuffle'

 

[x_man]

Now heres what Times of India has to say about the drama.

NEW DELHI: The Maharaja witnessed his first in-flight Mughal-e-Azam at 30,000 feet above sea level on Saturday, as two members of the cabin crew—one male and one female—slugged it out with the pilot and co-pilot.

Endangering the lives of 106 passengers and grossly violating safety norms, the airline staffers came to blows in the cockpit and galley of the Indian Airlines Airbus A-320 as the aircraft cruised over Pakistan en route to Delhi via Lucknow from Sharjah.

The cabin-vs-cockpit tiff originated on the ground in Sharjah itself and then turned into a full-blown fight once IC 884 took off soon after midnight.

The cabin crew alleged that pilots harassed a 24-year-old female colleague who later filed a molestation complaint against them with the cops after the flight landed in Delhi.

The pilots, on the other hand, accused a male flight purser of misconduct that seriously compromised flight safety, and said the accusation of molestation aimed to protect the complainant's purser friend—who has a commercial pilot licence (CPL)—from facing action.

No party denied that blows and abuses were exchanged as bewildered passengers looked on. Sources said that the female cabin crew member and the co-pilot sustained bruises.

Confirming the in-flight fight, Air India said it had ordered an inquiry and had grounded the staff members involved. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has also ordered a probe.

There were unconfirmed reports that at one stage the cockpit was unmanned, as the crew was busy fighting outside. Things allegedly degenerated to the point where the captain threatened to divert the plane to Karachi, likening the situation, sources said, to a "hijack".

In Sharjah, the cabin crew went to meet Captain Ranbir Arora and co-pilot Aditya Chopra for the pre-flight briefing. Both sides give different versions of what happened after this.

The cabin crew lobby said that after the initial tension on the ground in Sharjah, when the woman crew member went into the cockpit, one of the pilots held her hand and then pushed her out of the cockpit.

"She hit the cockpit door with such force that she started bleeding. When Amit Khanna, the purser, saw her in this condition, he went to the cockpit to ask what was happening. At this point, the pilots got abusive and started a fight with him," said a representative of the IA cabin crew, who added that the actual fight took place on the Lucknow-Delhi segment.

Pilot sources claimed that despite his CPL, Khanna could not get a pilot's job due to the downturn.

"The airhostess had announced flying time from Sharjah to Lucknow as per the schedule, and not the actual one that the commander gives. After taking off, the pilot scolded the airhostess and then called Amit to the cockpit," said a source.

Khanna, the source added, entered the cockpit angrily and that's when the fight started. "He became abusive, and tempers ran high in the cockpit. Given the highly unsafe situation there, the commander said he would divert to Karachi, to which Amit retorted, 'Jahan le jaana hai, le jaao, is aircraft ko main bhi uda loonga (take it wherever you want to, I can also fly)'," a pilot representative said, adding that the fight occurred over Pakistan, while the plan was flying from Sharjah to Lucknow. The woman crew member, the source explained, got bruised when she entered the cockpit in the melee.

The cockpit was cleared, with pilots pushing out Amit and then locking the door. After that, the plane landed in Lucknow at around 4.30 am. "Amit then apologized to the pilots, and they took off for Delhi so that the flight wasn't delayed. He later got the woman crew member to level charges of molestation to avoid action for making a hostile entry into the cockpit," said a source speaking on behalf of the pilots.

The police are investigating the woman's complaint and have registered a case against the pilot and co-pilot. "There are several eyewitnesses and we are recording their statements," said joint CP (operations) Satyendra Garg. The police had the victim examined at Safdarjung Hospital, where her bruises were confirmed. A case was registered, among others, under Section 354 for outraging the modesty of a woman.

The DGCA is fuming at the gross violation of safety norms on IC 884. "The airline didn't even inform us of this incident in time. We're going to summon the crew members on Monday. This incident is shocking and we may need to take exemplary action," said a senior official.

 

[x_man]

Now that’s what I call live in-flight entertainment!

T.O.I surely has censored the part where all the Flip Flops and sandals were flying everywhere and all sorts of slapping on the heads.

BTW , There is hero, a heroine, two villains , loads of extras and plenty of suspense . If we put few songs and a bhangra number in it, it will a perfect plot for next Bollywood smash.

 

[fatman17]

^this was hilarious!!!

 

[gogbot]

The plane was flying over Pak, i smell a conspiracy.

 

[Enigma SIG]

The plane was flying over Pak, i smell a conspiracy.

Yup; the ISI and LeT was behind it...

 

[DbnReaper]

This is not funny but rather serious. These idiots should be banned from entering a commercial flight again. If that plane crashed it could have killed all those passengers. Imagine the catastrophe if it landed in the middle of some commercial centre of Pakistan. The world will be quick to claim that Islamists were responsible for the attack and India would be even quicker to claim a Pakistani conspiracy. Air India generally is a 3rd rate carrier. This should now place them on the same level as our mini bus taxis in SA ?

 

[Musalman]

This is not funny but rather serious. These idiots should be banned from entering a commercial flight again. If that plane crashed it could have killed all those passengers. Imagine the catastrophe if it landed in the middle of some commercial centre of Pakistan. The world will be quick to claim that Islamists were responsible for the attack and India would be even quicker to claim a Pakistani conspiracy. Air India generally is a 3rd rate carrier. This should now place them on the same level as our mini bus taxis in SA ?

Yes the finger that caused harassment was ISI's and oil was from LET as they Saudi supported

 

[Reddy]

Stupid staff put the passengers at serious risk.
They should all be grounded and never be allowed to fly again.

 

[DbnReaper]

Yes the finger that caused harassment was ISI's and oil was from LET as they Saudi supported

Are you generally stupid or do you just aspire to be stupid on this blog? This isn't a joke. Civilians in the form of passengers and people on the ground could be killed with this kind of stupidity and you choose to make a joke of it ?

 

[All-Green]

Unbelievable...that is a nightmare for the passengers!

x-man, you are spot on...what a scenario...totally filmi...

One of the few recovery lines the Captain could have come up with for the passengers...
1) smile you are on candid camera...
2) You have been X'ed...
3) Thank you for your participation in our annual sexual assault drill...please leave your comments on how you rate the action of our Cabin crew's rapid response unit in this simulation...help make us better...fly air India and feel the rush of life...

Honestly, the mard hazraat are quite tharki in subcontinent...
maybe such tharki staff should be restricted to local flights only where they do not stay away long from their honeys and are not tempted to ask for a little extra sugar...

On a serious note, are there no sky marshals in the air India flights?
This was quite a situation...could have become dangerous had the passengers panicked and reacted strongly...

If god forbid the pilots had lost control then it would have been a tragedy and over what?
One can plan a hundred scenario responses but human stupidity and unpredictability can surpass all imagination...

 

[x_man]

The cockpit left unmanned for minutes while the flight was over Pakistan. Imagine if Karachi radar had called the flight and after getting no response, a pair of Mirages was scramble to intercept the Scuffled Indian Airbus.

The AI crew not only put the lives of passengers in danger while the punch-up was going onboard but also could create an unnecessary diplomatic tussle between the two countries if the fighters were scrambled. And in the end theirs truly lovely Indian media would have blamed Pakistan for everything....as usual !

Very poor show by Air India. And next time you guys want to punch each other, please do it outside Pakistans airspace.

P.S. Perhaps the whole thing went like this

 

[BATMAN]

How safe is flying over Afghanistan in commercial airline?
Could NATO or US may hit any fligt originating from Iran or Turkmenistan, by mistake or out of hate?
US already have track record of shooting down one civilian air bus over persian gulf.

 

[x_man]

How safe is flying over Afghanistan in commercial airline?

Absolutely safe.

All commercial flights originating from Pakistan (especially Islamabad and Lahore ) to Europe/USA fly thru Afghan airspace and then onto Uzbekistan , cross Caspian sea and further on their routes. Vice versa, all flights from Europe to Isb/Lhr also pass thru Afghanistan and Kabul radar handles all the commercial traffic.

Every flight is identified by a call sign , a squawk code and its flight plan is approved by transiting countries even before its gets airborne. So there is very less probablity to confuse it with a military target.

 

[PAFAce]

Absolutely safe.

All commercial flights originating from Pakistan (especially Islamabad and Lahore ) to Europe/USA fly thru Afghan airspace and then onto Uzbekistan , cross Caspian sea and further on their routes. Vice versa, all flights from Europe to Isb/Lhr also pass thru Afghanistan and Kabul radar handles all the commercial traffic.

Every flight is identified by a call sign , a squawk code and its flight plan is approved by transiting countries even before its gets airborne. So there is very less probablity to confuse it with a military target.

Flying to Toronto from Islamabad, our aircraft passed over Afghanistan. I looked out the window, it was very rocky, and you could see the ragged mountains. I couldn't believe that such a deserted place could be filled with War. I thought "what if OBL is sitting directly below me right now?", but of course, I didn't utter that out loud. I would have been apprehended for saying "OBL" on an aircraft. What didn't enter my mind, though, was any thought of safety. We were flying quite high.

In any case, this news is quite embarrassing, and very, very serious. I would be surprised if any of the persons involved kept their jobs. If they had landed in Karachi, oh man, I can only imagine the media reports and political statements.