Jet Airways pilot has licence suspended after “assaulting” another pilot on London-M

ndeke · 4th Jan 2018, 07:44

NEW DELHI: Jet Airways has grounded two of its senior commanders for fighting inside the cockpit of a London-Mumbai flight on January 1.
The commander flying as co-pilot allegedly slapped the lady commander mid-flight after which she left the cockpit in tears.

After great persuation, the lady pilot went back to the cockpit but reportedly came out in a huff shortly afterwards. This time, a frightened cabin crew, fearing for everyone's safety, requested her to go back to the controls and operate the flight to its destination. Luckily, the plane landed safely.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has suspended the licence of the male co-pilot and ordered a probe into the entire episode.
This unprecedented cockpit fight happened on 9W 119 soon after Jet's Boeing 777 took off for its 9-hour journey to Mumbai with 324 passengers and 14 crew members on board on New Year's Day at 10am (UK time).

Both the pilots of this flight were commanders and the lady was captaining 9W 119 while the other was the co-pilot for this sector.
"Shortly after the plane took off, the two pilots had a fight. The co-pilot slapped the lady commander and she left the cockpit in tears. She stood in the galley sobbing. The cabin crew tried to comfort her and send her back to the cockpit, but in vain. The co-pilot also kept buzzing (calling from the intercom in the cockpit) the crew, asking them to send the second pilot back," said sources.

When the cabin crew could not do so, the co-pilot reportedly came out of the cockpit — leaving the cockpit unmanned in gross violation of safety rules — and persuaded the commander to return with him to the controls.

"However, they had a fight for the second time following which she came out again. This time, the cabin crew was quite afraid of the fight happening in the cockpit. They requested her to go to the cockpit and fly the plane safely to its destination," said sources. Realising the fear factor among everyone, she returned to the cockpit and the plane landed safely in Mumbai just after midnight of January 1-2.

Confirming this fight, a Jet Airways spokesman said: "A misunderstanding occurred between the cockpit crew of Jet Airways flight 9W 119, London - Mumbai of January 01, 2018. However, the same was quickly resolved amicably and the flight with 324 guests including 2 infants and 14 crew continued its journey to Mumbai, landing safely. The airline has reported the incident to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the concerned crew have been derostered pending an internal investigation that has since been initiated. At Jet Airways, safety of guests, crew and assets is of paramount importance and the airline has zero tolerance for any action of its employees that compromises safety."'

Terming this a "serious issue", DGCA chief BS Bhullar told TOI: "We have ordered an investigation into this and have suspended the privileges of co-pilot's license pending the probe."

garpal gumnut · 4th Jan 2018, 09:23

Quite an extraordinary occurence on LHR-BOM flight.

Alleged assault and flight absent of pilot and co-pilot in cockpit for some minutes.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...ht-jet-airways

2dPilot · 4th Jan 2018, 09:39

BBC reports the same, but without mentioning both pilots out of the cockpit. Shocking

roving · 4th Jan 2018, 09:47

The Jet Airways crew, reported to be in a relationship ...

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/t...-a3731626.html

2dPilot · 4th Jan 2018, 09:54

Ex-crew in ex-relationship....

Herod · 4th Jan 2018, 10:12

Both pilots out of the cockpit; door swings shut. Now what?

Super VC-10 · 4th Jan 2018, 10:14

Aircraft flies on autopilot until fuel exahaustion and crashes?

A0283 · 4th Jan 2018, 10:24

Jet Airways grounds pilots after 'cockpit fight' - BBC News

Juan Tugoh · 4th Jan 2018, 10:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by Super VC-10

Aircraft flies on autopilot until fuel exahaustion and crashes?

You are either not a pilot or you did not engage your brain and need to rethink that comment. If you are a pilot, you will realise why you look like a complete tool for making it, if not you are just out of your depth..

garpal gumnut · 4th Jan 2018, 10:29

I would hope that there will be two extra pilot vacancies advertised immediatedly for Jet Airways if the alleged events occurred.

To have an aircraft sans pilot and co-pilot for any amount of time is unforgivable.

Jay Sata · 4th Jan 2018, 10:53

Not a first for an Indian airline.

This happened two years ago on an Air India flightdeck.

Quote:

The captain and first officer came to blows in the cockpit as they were preparing the passenger plane for departure from the Rajasthan city of Jaipur to Delhi on Sunday night.

The first officer was irritated by his superior’s request to write down critical information for the flight, such as the number of passengers on board, takeoff weight and fuel uptake, the Times of India reported.

“The co-pilot took offence at this and reportedly beat up the captain,” the newspaper said, quoting unnamed sources. “In the larger interest of the airline, the commander decided to go ahead with the flight and flew to Delhi,” the paper added.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...ockpit-dispute

Quote:

CHENNAI: A Chennai-Delhi Air India flight was delayed by more than two hours after pilot and aircraft engineer had a difference of opinion which ended up in a fight inside the cockpit on Saturday. The aircraft engineer was injured and was admitted to a private hospital while the pilot Captain Manik Lal has been grounded till investigations are completed.

SafetyRelations · 4th Jan 2018, 12:50

While I am not aware of the details of this incident or the exact story behind it, this is a good example of the “role of emotions” in aviation safety. This incident went to extremes, but it is worth remembering that every decision is influenced by emotions and it is possible to learn in this area. It also indicates the need to develop “emotional resilience” among aviation professionals and to take the Crew Resource Management (CRM) and Human Factors training to the next level by including deeper learning in “emotional literacy”.

mach2.6 · 4th Jan 2018, 14:38

This would have been a non-issue in Airbus. HAL would have closed the cockpit door, landed at destination, taxied to the gate, and repored the alleged incident to Flight Ops.

scotneil · 4th Jan 2018, 19:20

The statement from Jet Airways sounds as if the airline wants to whitewash this matter. Further, it seems strange to roster 2 pilots together if they're in a "relationship" (assuming the airline is aware of this). Very unprofessional from both pilots, and I agree that they should both be looking for another job.

BlankBox · 4th Jan 2018, 21:05

...normal to fly a 9hr trip with only 2 crew?

Suvarnabhumi · 4th Jan 2018, 21:10

Interesting reading......

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com...w/62195120.cms

https://littleindia.com/jet-airways-...lots-in-india/

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com...w/62089931.cms

jack11111 · 4th Jan 2018, 22:12

Perhaps single-pilot freight ops for both for quite a while.

Wow.

JammedStab · 5th Jan 2018, 00:09

Ok guys,

If you are going to have a fight onboard the aircraft, please do it in the cabin so we will all be safer.

Ex Cargo Clown · 5th Jan 2018, 01:28

Imagine a TCAS event whilst they went AWOL, would love to be in that "Tea without biccies" meeting.

WingNut60 · 5th Jan 2018, 01:43

How well connected do you need to be in order to also be a female PIC with Jet Airways?
Which begs the question, is there any real prospect of disciplinary action anyway? This is not an event requiring re-training?