Cockpit fighting: Air India pilots grounded after high altitude assault
Two co-pilots who had a fight in the cockpit of a commercial jet prior to takeoff have been suspended from duty, Sputnik reports.
A spokesman for Air India announced on Monday that the co-pilots of Sunday's flight from Jaipur to Delhi have been suspended pending an investigation by the airline, following reports that they had a fight in the cockpit prior to takeoff.
According to sources in the airline, the conflict began after the captain of flight AI 611 asked his copilot to take notes of critical data for the flight prior to take-off. The co-pilot, instead of complying with the request, is alleged to have physically attacked his colleague.
The captain involved reportedly complained to superiors after landing in Delhi about the copilot, who airline staff told local media has previously been the subject of complaints from colleagues about "his 'rude and unbecoming' behavior in the cockpit and questioned his state of mind."
The incident comes just days after the Indian Commercial Pilots Association [ICPA] wrote a letter to India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation [DGCA] warning that its junior pilots were being overworked by the airline, which demanded that they work overtime, without extra remuneration or the possibility of taking leave.