Police investigating mid-air scuffle between Air India pilots, crew

Oct 4, 2009, 9:40 GMT

New Delhi - Indian police are probing an alleged mid-air scuffle between pilots and crew of an Air India flight while it was cruising over Pakistan on route to Delhi from Sharjah, news reports said Sunday.

Delhi police said a flight attendant who had been onboard on the flight lodged a complaint that she had been hurt and molested by a pilot and the case was being investigated.

An altercation between the pilots of the aircraft and two cabin crew members - one female and the other male - began on the ground in Sharjah before flight IC-884 took off Saturday, the Times of India newspaper reported.

Verbal exchanges allegedly developed into a full-blown fight after the aircraft took off, the report said citing unnamed sources.

'Blows were exchanged and abuse hurled by pilots and crew mid-air, with bewildered passengers looking on,' the Times of India report said. According to the sources, the fight left the flight attendants and co-pilot bruised.

The incident took place right outside the cockpit and violated all safety norms as the aircraft flew at over 30,000 feet with 160 passengers on board, the report added.

There were several witnesses to the incident and the police was recording their statements, Delhi's joint commissioner of police (operations) Satyendra Garg said.

Garg said the police would also hear from the pilot involved before initiating further proceedings in the case.

The pilots have accused the male cabin crew of misbehaving and compromising safety. They allege the flight attendants filed the molestation complaint to protect her colleague.

Air India management has grounded the pilots and cabin crew involved in the incident and ordered an investigation.