DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation), India’s civil aviation regulator has suspended the flying license of two Jet Airways’ pilots for five years following mid-air brawl in the cockpit of an international flight on New Year’s Eve day.
The pilots involved – a man and a woman – were fired by the private Jet Airways after the incident on a London-Mumbai flight ‘9W119’ carrying 324 passengers which landed safely in Mumbai.
“The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has investigated the occurrence. Keeping in view the serious safety lapses endangering the safety of aircraft operations, the regulator on Tuesday suspended the licenses of the pilots for five years,” an official said Wednesday.
Their flying licenses have been suspended for putting flight safety under threat, as the pilots left the cockpit unattended twice during their mid-air brawl, a senior official of India’s DGCA reported.
According to sources, the flight commander had in fact slapped the female co-pilot following a violent argument, after which the victim left the cockpit for some time. She later went back after the intervention of the senior most cabin crew.
Jet Airways had then termed the fisticuffs in the cockpit as a case of “misunderstanding” between the pilots, which was “resolved amicably.”
