Most of us are in a habit of using slangs with our friends and sometimes, we use some threatening phrases too, even if we don’t really mean them, whenever we get into a brawl with someone but people need to be careful at their workplaces or they might have to face serious consequences or can even be suspended like this Air India pilot.
Last month in Mumbai, an Air India pilot threatened a ground engineer with these words – “plane chadha doonga” (Will run you down with the plane), unless he lets the flight take off soon.
The pilot was in the cockpit and the ground engineers were busy in their pre-flight checks for the Airbus A-320 which was set to fly for Bengaluru. As per a source,
“The captain was in a hurry to take off for some reason and said those words to the ground engineer. The engineers immediately completed their checks and removed chocks – wooden blocks kept in front and rear of tyres – after which the plane is towed back and then taxi to the runway for take off.”
This type of behavior from the pilot made the engineers very upset, as just few months back, they had lost a colleague very near to that bay when an aircraft engine pulled him inside.
A formal complaint was filed against the pilot just as the plane took off. The engineers filed the complaint with their own safety dept. and flight safety dept. of Air India. Just as the plane landed in the city of Bengaluru, cockpit voice recorder’s content was downloaded on the orders of FSD.
A senior AI officer said,
“This exchange took place a few months back. We went through the recording and took a very serious note of that threat, irrespective of whether it was made in jest or anger. The pilot was taken off flying duties for about a month. During that time he was made to undergo counselling that included anger management.”
He further added,
“We went through the record of the pilot. He was neither found to be a habitual offender nor someone who had similar complaints in the past. He may have even said it in jest but we took a serious note of that. After the counselling was over and due to his past record, he is back flying.”
The pilots and the crew of the flight are under a lot of pressure to fly on time as it is needed to improve the poor on time performance (OTP) record of the airlines; however after this incident, the FSD has asked them not to take stress and fly with cool and calm mind.
As per the data given by Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), every month, the domestic flights of Air India are the least punctual. A daily report is sought by aviation ministry and the airline has given the reason for every delay made.
In the words of a senior official,
“The pilots and other crew members are therefore under tremendous pressure to fly on time. But FSD has issued an advisory to them not to operate under stress and fly with a cool head.”
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