Alliance Air pilot mistakes Kochi for Kozhikode
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Alliance Air pilot mistakes Kochi for Kozhikode
CHENNAI/ KOCHI: About 32 passengers from Thiruvananthapuram on board an Alliance Air flight were shocked to find themselves at Kochi airport on Monday after the pilot announced that they had landed at Kozhikode.
Air traffic controllers are flummoxed by the pilot's statement that he thought he had reached Kozhikode and that there was some navigational error.
A spokesman of the airline, meanwhile, said the flight landed in Kochi because of a last-minute change in the crew's duty timing.
An airport official said it is impossible for the pilot not to know details of the airport he was coming in to land at.
Gokul Nair, a passenger, said there was utter confusion among passengers. "The crew announced that the flight has landed in Kozhikode, but looking out of the window I saw Cochin airport," he said. "The pilot later came out of the cockpit and announced that he was under the impression he had landed in Kozhikode."
A senior ATC official at Cochin airport said the Alliance Air flight headed to Kozhikode was not scheduled to land at the time. "Since it sought landing permission, we gave it a slot," he said. Passenger aircraft are allowed to land at any Indian airport if the pilot seeks permission. "It may not be a navigational mistake, but a decision by the airline to divert the flight," he said.
The flight was scheduled to fly on the Thiruvananthapuram-Calicut-Cochin-Agathi (Lakshadweep) sector on Monday morning. A Kochi airport official said the flight went directly to Kochi against the schedule of going first to Kozhikode. "Passengers on board did not know about the change. Many of them realized the change in destination only when they touched the runway and saw the sign boards," said the official. Passengers bound for Kozhikode protested.
The airline then deplaned all the 20 passengers bound for Kozhikode and made them wait at Cochin airport for four hours until the plane flew to Agathi in Lakshadweep and came back. They were then flown to Kozhikode
Alliance Air pilot mistakes Kochi for Kozhikode - The Times of India
Air traffic controllers are flummoxed by the pilot's statement that he thought he had reached Kozhikode and that there was some navigational error.
A spokesman of the airline, meanwhile, said the flight landed in Kochi because of a last-minute change in the crew's duty timing.
An airport official said it is impossible for the pilot not to know details of the airport he was coming in to land at.
Gokul Nair, a passenger, said there was utter confusion among passengers. "The crew announced that the flight has landed in Kozhikode, but looking out of the window I saw Cochin airport," he said. "The pilot later came out of the cockpit and announced that he was under the impression he had landed in Kozhikode."
A senior ATC official at Cochin airport said the Alliance Air flight headed to Kozhikode was not scheduled to land at the time. "Since it sought landing permission, we gave it a slot," he said. Passenger aircraft are allowed to land at any Indian airport if the pilot seeks permission. "It may not be a navigational mistake, but a decision by the airline to divert the flight," he said.
The flight was scheduled to fly on the Thiruvananthapuram-Calicut-Cochin-Agathi (Lakshadweep) sector on Monday morning. A Kochi airport official said the flight went directly to Kochi against the schedule of going first to Kozhikode. "Passengers on board did not know about the change. Many of them realized the change in destination only when they touched the runway and saw the sign boards," said the official. Passengers bound for Kozhikode protested.
The airline then deplaned all the 20 passengers bound for Kozhikode and made them wait at Cochin airport for four hours until the plane flew to Agathi in Lakshadweep and came back. They were then flown to Kozhikode
Alliance Air pilot mistakes Kochi for Kozhikode - The Times of India
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It has happened before and not just in India or by Indian pilots. I seem to recall a couple of guys who overflew their destination,Minneapolis,MN, in the US not too long ago.So before we jump on the expat bandwagon, we need to know more facts.
Alt3.
Alt3.
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