A recently received copy of the second broadcast email generated by the expat captain involved, soliciting advice from his colleagues:
I am still pondering the options. I have filed a NASA form here in the US to cover my license (even though I wasn’t flying). Is there something in the Air India SOP that requires me to submit anything? Since I was not at the controls I could not find any requirement.
I called the Indian Captain and told him to send me his version so that I know what is being said, just in case I get called (by AI Safety Dept). His version was believable. If they pull the data, he is going to jail with the story he sent me. No relation to the truth! There is no way I will support his version. I will just plead the Indian 5th Amendment and hope they go away. No way I can win any points in this one.
Interesting to note the scepticism of the armchair psychologists flushed out on this thread. Even Air India and DGCA know the incident happened. The problem (amongst many others) is that neither body will publicly admit the incident and set about the required root and branch change required of both organisations to prevent (as far as possible) future such incidents and possible accidents (many of which, I can assure all readers, are just itching to happen).