Jet Airways Pilot ‘Slaps’ Female Peer, Both Grounded

Jet Airways has grounded two of its senior pilots following a mid-air brawl on a London-Mumbai flight on Jan. 1, in which the male commander allegedly slapped his female counterpart.

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 said.

When contacted, a Jet Airways spokesperson said it was a "misunderstanding".

“A misunderstanding occurred between the cockpit crew of 9W119 London-Mumbai flight on Jan. 1. However, the same was quickly resolved amicably and the flight with 324 guests including two infants and 14 crew members completed its journey in Mumbai safely,” the airline spokesperson said.

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 an investigation that is underway, the airline spokesperson said.