New Delhi: Another incident of Violation of rules , occured in an Air India Bangalore -Hyderabad flight, Air India (AI) pilots allowed a prominent south Indian actress to travel in the cockpit occupying the observers seat.
The observers seat is meant for examiners and observers authorised by aviation regulator DGCA to conduct checks and for trainee pilots during their initial training.
However , after confirming the incidet “Both the pilots have been suspended and an inquiry has been ordered. The actress was allowed to travel in the cockpit,” said an AI spokesperson . Sources said the captain, a former office bearer of pilot union, the Indian Commercial Pilots Association, allowed the actress inside the cockpit and let her remain there for the duration of the flight.
1st July 2012
Last year as well in the month of July such an inccident was reported where in , the pilot of an Air India passenger plane seated his mother in the cockpit for a domestic flight, refusing to take off without her after he could not get her a free ticket.
The pilot allegedly demanded that his mother be issued a “dummy boarding card” at Pune airport and placed her in a jump seat reserved for the crew for the two-hour flight to the capital New Delhi.
“When the pilot insisted on taking his mother on board, the operations and commercial departments were informed,” and “The pilot threatened that he would not fly without his mother.”
The pilot said that his mother was sick and he could not leave her at the airport, the paper reported.
Air India pilots are allowed some free tickets for themselves and family members subject to seat availability.
The duty managers report recorded that the fully-booked flight, with 122 passengers on board, was delayed for 20 minutes because of the incident.
