NEW DELHI: Nothing much happened on Air India's flight No 133 from Bangkok to New Delhi on April 12. Except that two flight attendants spent almost 60 minutes inside the cockpit. That at one point while flying auto-pilot 33,000 feet above the ground, they briefly even occupied the seat of the pilot and the co-pilot. And that during the unprofessional episode, the auto pilot's disconnect button had been pressed inadvertently for a few moments.
The bizarre incident came to light when a crew member (who wasn't invited to the cockpit by the commander) filed an anonymous complaint to the authorities. Now the airline has suspended the commander of the flight along with the two air hostesses. Directorate general of civil aviation chief Arun Mishra has also ordered a probe into this incident and asked AI to submit a detailed report.
According to sources, Captain BK Soni called two flight attendants inside the cockpit of the Airbus A-321. "The aircraft was flying on auto-pilot at that time. The co-pilot left his seat to go to the toilet. When he returned, he found that the commander had made the ladies sit on the pilot's and co-pilot's seats. After the co-pilot, a senior flyer on the verge of becoming a captain himself, objected, the ladies left their seats," a source said.
There were unconfirmed reports that at one point, only the flight attendants were inside the cockpit and both the pilots were out. However, AI denied this saying "at no point of time was the cockpit the left unattended by the cockpit crew."
DGCA rules stipulate that two crew members including one of the two pilots should be inside the cockpit at all times. This means that an airhostess has to be called to the cockpit before a pilot can leave it for any reason like going to the lavatory. "It never happens that two flight attendants are called inside the cockpit at the same time as happened on this flight. This is very strange," said a senior commander.
Adding to the strange occurence was the fact that the auto-pilot switch got disengaged when the ladies were getting up from the seats. "During the incident, due to distraction the co-pilot had touched the auto pilot disconnect button momentarily. But the same was connected back," an AI statement admitted.
It further said, "Based on a report (the crew member's complaint) that two cabin crew members were in the cockpit for a prolonged period on the flight, the airline management summoned the cockpit and cabin crew for an enquiry. As the enquiry confirmed the over stay of the cabin crew in the cockpit, administrative action was taken against them and the pilot. They have been suspended pending the final enquiry of the incident."
Other worrying aviation-related incidents too have also taken place recently. "This is unacceptable and we need to take strict action against the guilty. Last month an AI pilot landed in Mumbai without air traffic control clearance and now we have this episode. It seems AI itself is running on auto-pilot," an official said.
Pilot lets 2 flight attendants fly Air India plane - The Times of India
The bizarre incident came to light when a crew member (who wasn't invited to the cockpit by the commander) filed an anonymous complaint to the authorities. Now the airline has suspended the commander of the flight along with the two air hostesses. Directorate general of civil aviation chief Arun Mishra has also ordered a probe into this incident and asked AI to submit a detailed report.
According to sources, Captain BK Soni called two flight attendants inside the cockpit of the Airbus A-321. "The aircraft was flying on auto-pilot at that time. The co-pilot left his seat to go to the toilet. When he returned, he found that the commander had made the ladies sit on the pilot's and co-pilot's seats. After the co-pilot, a senior flyer on the verge of becoming a captain himself, objected, the ladies left their seats," a source said.
There were unconfirmed reports that at one point, only the flight attendants were inside the cockpit and both the pilots were out. However, AI denied this saying "at no point of time was the cockpit the left unattended by the cockpit crew."
DGCA rules stipulate that two crew members including one of the two pilots should be inside the cockpit at all times. This means that an airhostess has to be called to the cockpit before a pilot can leave it for any reason like going to the lavatory. "It never happens that two flight attendants are called inside the cockpit at the same time as happened on this flight. This is very strange," said a senior commander.
Adding to the strange occurence was the fact that the auto-pilot switch got disengaged when the ladies were getting up from the seats. "During the incident, due to distraction the co-pilot had touched the auto pilot disconnect button momentarily. But the same was connected back," an AI statement admitted.
It further said, "Based on a report (the crew member's complaint) that two cabin crew members were in the cockpit for a prolonged period on the flight, the airline management summoned the cockpit and cabin crew for an enquiry. As the enquiry confirmed the over stay of the cabin crew in the cockpit, administrative action was taken against them and the pilot. They have been suspended pending the final enquiry of the incident."
Other worrying aviation-related incidents too have also taken place recently. "This is unacceptable and we need to take strict action against the guilty. Last month an AI pilot landed in Mumbai without air traffic control clearance and now we have this episode. It seems AI itself is running on auto-pilot," an official said.
Pilot lets 2 flight attendants fly Air India plane - The Times of India
yeah right. 
