Two Jet pilots grounded for fighting in cockpit of London-Mumbai flight

A misunderstanding occurred between the cockpit crew but it was quickly resolved, says Jet Airways

On January 1, the pilot and co-pilot of Jet Airways flight from London to Mumbai had a fight inside cockpit when the flight was scheduled to take off. The matter had been reported to Jet Airways management, both pilots have been de-rostered till further investigation.

"Misunderstanding occurred between cockpit crew of Jet Airways flight, London–Mumbai on 1 Jan. It was resolved amicably & flight continued journey to Mumbai. Incident reported to DGCA & concerned crew derostered pending an internal investigation, that has been initiated," Jet Airways said in a statement.

The incident happened on 9W 119 flight soon after it took off for Mumbai with 324 passengers and 14 crew members on board on New Year Day.

The incident took place this Monday, when the aircraft was in over the Iran-Pakistan airspace, and was 2.45 hours away from its destination, an airline source told PTI today.

However, the source alleged that the male pilot who has been working with the airline for over a decade had some "argument" with the female commander over some issues.

The source said these two senior pilots have been flying together for many years and have had arguments in the past as well. But that on the Monday flight, arguments turned violent and he slapped her, after which she came out of the cabin crying, the source alleged.

"The cabin crew persuaded her to go back to the cockpit but she refused. Following this, the male pilot came out of the cockpit, leaving the operations to the care of a cabin crew (which is a violation of flight safety norms) and persuaded her to return to the cockpit," the source said.

The airline has reported the matter to the DGCA and the pilots involved in the incident have been taken off duties pending investigation that is underway, the airline spokesperson said.