In-flight scuffle: Air India pilots and cabin crew 'get physical' at FL300

by B. N. Sullivan

This isn't the kind of story I usually write about here on Aircrew Buzz. Fortunately.

News media in India are reporting on a rather sensational story about a fight among several crew members during an Air India/Indian Airlines* flight. That's right, an in-flight fight -- an actual physical fight -- as in duking it out!

As best I can figure out from several news stories, the scuffle took place on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2009 on board an Airbus A320 while the aircraft was in cruise at 30,000 ft over Pakistan. The incident happened on Indian Airlines Flight IC 884, a scheduled passenger flight from Sharjah to Delhi, with an intermediate stop at Lucknow. Reports say that there were seven crew members and 106 passengers on board the flight. Two crew members -- a pilot and a flight attendant -- were injured. No passengers were involved.

The physical fight is said to have taken place on the Sharjah to Lucknow leg of the trip, although at least one news story mentioned that the disagreement may have begun on the ground before departure from Sharjah. In any case, as The Times of India tells it, "two members of the cabin crew -- one male and one female -- slugged it out with the pilot and co-pilot," adding that they "came to blows in the cockpit and galley."

More from The Times of India:

No party denied that blows and abuses were exchanged as bewildered passengers looked on. Sources said that the female cabin crew member and the co-pilot sustained bruises.

Confirming the in-flight fight, Air India said it had ordered an inquiry and had grounded the staff members involved. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has also ordered a probe.

There were unconfirmed reports that at one stage the cockpit was unmanned, as the crew was busy fighting outside. Things allegedly degenerated to the point where the captain threatened to divert the plane to Karachi, likening the situation, sources said, to a "hijack".

Good grief!

Then we move along to a he said/she said account of what transpired. Cabin crew representatives told The Times that "when the woman crew member went into the cockpit, one of the pilots held her hand and then pushed her out of the cockpit," and that she "hit the cockpit door with such force that she started bleeding." At that point the male purser said he went to the cockpit to ask what was happening, but that the pilots "got abusive and started a fight with him."

In the pilots' version, the female flight attendant made a P.A. announcement that differed from what the captain had instructed her to say, so the pilot "scolded" her and called the purser to the cockpit. The pilots' representative said that the purser "became abusive, and tempers ran high in the cockpit." That's when the commander threatened to divert to Karachi. The source went on to explain that the woman crew member "got bruised when she entered the cockpit."

Yes, apparently she really was bruised, a fact confirmed when she visited a hospital after the flight. The woman also "has pressed charges of assault and sexual harassment against the commander and co-pilot," according to a story about the fracas on the ExpressIndia.com Web site.

ExpressIndia.com published a quote from the female crew member, who said, "The commander tried to physically abuse me. When I resisted, he pushed me outside the cockpit." She claimed she was touched at "inappropriate places."

Joint Commissioner (Operations) Satendra Garg said, "A case has been registered under Sections 354, 323 and 34 of IPC accusing the co-pilot and commander of molestation, passing derogatory remarks outraging modesty, and simple hurt. We have got the medical examination done and will take the version of the accused."

All four crew members have been derostered while an investigation of the incident is being carried out. Both the airline and India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) are looking into the matter.

*Note: Indian Airlines and Air India, India's two state-owned airlines, were merged into one entity in 2007. They operate as Air India, but I am told that certain flights are designated as Indian Airlines flights, and bear the 'IC' flight numbers.

Air India Boeing 747 catches fire on Mumbai taxiway

by B. N. Sullivan

An Air India Boeing 747-400 aircraft (registration VT-ESM) caught fire on a taxiway at Mumbai earlier today, prompting an emergency evacuation. According to news reports, Air India Flight AI 829 had just pushed back from the gate in preparation for departure on a scheduled flight to Riyadh when the number one engine caught fire. All sixteen crew members and 213 passengers safely evacuated the aircraft using emergency slides. News reports say that 21 individuals suffered minor injuries during the evacuation. The fire was said to have been quickly extinguished, but the aircraft incurred substantial damage.

Several news reports from India attribute the fire to a fuel leak. India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has ordered an investigation of the accident.

Here is a news video, provided by iStream.in, showing Mumbai airport firefighters battling the blaze:

If the video does not play or display properly above, click here to view it on YouTube.

Nose gear of Air India Boeing 777 collapses at Mumbai

The nose gear of an Air India Boeing 777-200ER aircraft collapsed during a pre-flight check at Gate 48 of Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai last week. According to news reports, the incident happened on the afternoon of May 16, 2008, as the aircraft was being prepared for a scheduled passenger flight from Mumbai to Dubai. Passengers for Air India Flight AI717 had not yet boarded. No one was injured.

Here is a TimesNow TV news video about the incident:



(If the video does not play or display properly above, click here to view it on YouTube.)

Pilot shortage in India: Airlines need type-rated ex-pat pilots

Air India has a shortage of pilots, particularly those qualified to fly Boeing 777 aircraft. In fact, this shortage of Boeing 777 type-rated pilots has caused India's national flag carrier to temporarily suspend its passenger service between Kolkata and London, a route served by Boeing 777 aircraft. An airline official in Kolkata noted that, if not remedied soon, the pilot shortage could affect Air India flights to Chicago, New York and London from Delhi and Mumbai as well.

Air India, a government-owned carrier, currently employs about 800 pilots, 117 of whom are foreigners. Since there are too few Indian nationals with the needed type ratings and command experience on the Boeing 777, Air India employs ex-pat pilots to fill the vacancies. The Careers page on the Air India website specifies a current need for more ex-pat pilots who are already qualified to fly B777-200/300 aircraft. Online applications for these positions are being accepted now.

So, how did this situation come about? According to an article about the pilot shortage in the Times of India, the current crisis began when Air India's three-year contract with 20 pilots expired this month. Another 10 pilots have just retired. Most of those pilots were Boeing 777 commanders.

An article in The Hindu quoted an Air India spokesman who said that Air India was "expediting the pace of training of pilots and three Captains were turning out every month to fly B-777 aircraft." The carrier also sends young pilots for training to flying schools in the U.S., but this does little to fill the immediate need for experienced aircraft commanders. Thus, the airline is seeking qualified pilots from abroad.

Pilot poaching is another issue that comes into play. The article in The Hindu elaborates:

Some of the senior commanders told The Hindu that despite an unwritten “no-poaching” pact among airlines in the country as many as 31 pilots left JetLite, formerly Air Sahara, and now acquired by Jet Airways as its low-cost arm, over the past two months, and joined Kingfisher Airlines, which is an on a expansion spree after its promoter Vijay Mallya acquired a stake in Air Deccan.

“All these pilots who were operating Boeing 737 will be able to fly wide bodied jets like A-340 after a brief spell of training on simulators. The same pool of trained pilots could have been available to Air India for its B-777 fleet as it would have required just four sessions on simulators. As a majority of pilots are on contracts, there is no question of overtaking anyone’s seniority,” industry sources said.

The Hindu notes that private carriers in India employ ex-pat pilots, too. Jet Airways employs about 100 foreign pilots, IndiGo has 84 foreigners as pilots and Paramount Airways has 11, while cargo carrier Blue Dart has 10 foreign pilots, according to the Civil Aviation Ministry. In addition, some 900 of the 2,500 pilots employed in the civil aviation sector are foreigners. About five per cent are above 60 years and are from the U.S. The retirement age for pilots in India is now 65.

[Photo Source]

Air India merger officially complete

The merger between India's two state-owned airlines, first announced early this year, finally is complete -- at least as far as the legalities are concerned.

The intended merger between Air India and Indian Airlines was approved in March of this year by the government of India, and a new company called the National Aviation Company of India Limited (NACIL) was formed. The Certificate to Commence Business was obtained in May of 2007. Now, as a final step in the bureaucratic process, an Order of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs has been issued, approving the merger of the two airlines, with NACIL as the holding company.

The newly merged carrier will operate as Air India. The Corporate Office of NACIL will be at Mumbai.

The new Air India is undergoing a corporate image makeover. A statement about the merger issued by the airline said:

It has been decided that post merger, the new entity will be known as “Air India” while “Maharaja” will be retained as its mascot. The logo of the new airline will be a red coloured flying swan with the “Konark Chakra” in orange placed inside it. The flying swan has been morphed from Air India’s characteristic logo “The Centaur” whereas the “Konark Chakra” was reminiscent of Indian’s logo.

As a part of the image makeover effort, cabin crew and ground personnel will be getting fashionable new uniforms created by one of India's most well-known designers designers, Ritu Beri.

An article about the finalization of the Air India merger on FlightGlobal.com notes that actual integration of the two airlines’ operations will probably take around two years to complete. The enlarged carrier will have combined fleet size of over 112 aircraft. Already faced with a pilot shortage, the airline has come up with a plan to help finance the training of new pilots.

Air India cabin crew to get new designer uniforms

Earlier this year India's two main state-owned airlines were merged into one company. The new Air India is undergoing a corporate image makeover, and as a part of that effort, cabin crew and ground personnel will be getting smart new uniforms created by one of India's top fashion designers.

Designer Ritu Beri has been selected to design the new uniforms for India's national flag carrier, according to India's Economic Times:

The design of the new uniforms draw inspiration from the Sun Temple of Konark in Orissa, yet maintains a modern outlook.

The colour palette of the uniform is red, orange, black and white, with red standing for strength and orange for cultural roots.

"The endeavour is to combine our rich Indian colours and motifs from the Sun Temple with the powerful and more modern combination of black and white in the borders," a statement from Air India said.

The uniform for the female employees, both ground staff and cabin crew, would include sarees, tunics, scarves, jackets, coats, aprons and shoes, while there would be specially designed ties for the male staff.

For more information about the designer, visit Ritu Beri's website. While you are there, be sure to have a look at her Uniform Portfolio page.

Air India: Two emergency landings at Delhi in one day

Air traffic at Indira Ghandi International Airport in Delhi was disrupted earlier today in the wake of two emergency landings by Air India planes. Both aircraft landed safely and no one was injured in either incident, however one of the aircraft became disabled at the end of a runway. The runway had to be closed until the aircraft was removed using heavy equipment. Another runway remained open.

Air India Flight AI 349 developed "landing gear problems," according to a number of press reports. The Airbus A310, which was arriving from Bangkok, made a safe landing, but its nose gear apparently collapsed as the plane was being towed from the runway "leaving the aircraft's tail jutting out onto the runway near one end," according to a Reuters article. Passengers were deplaned on the runway and taken to the terminal by bus.

Hours later a second aircraft, Air India Flight AI 736 arriving from Dubai, declared an emergency after developing what news reports called "a hydraulic problem." The Boeing 767 aircraft landed safely, too, and later was towed to a hangar.

News reports say that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and Air India are investigating both incidents.

Click here to view a five-minute CNN-IBN video about these incidents.

[Photo Source]

State-owned airlines in India to merge

The BBC is reporting that India's two main state-owned airlines will soon merge. The two carriers, Air India and Indian Airlines, will become one by April of this year. From the BBC article:

The Indian government hopes that the combined firm will become one of the world's top 20 airlines.

"Everybody feels the process of merger is appropriate," said Praful Patel, India's civil aviation minister.

Set up in 1932, Air India is the country's flagship airline, serving more than 40 destinations worldwide.

Indian Airlines is focused on the domestic market.

Air travel has been growing rapidly in India as income levels rise and long-established players such as Air India and Indian Airlines have been challenged by more recent entrants.

There are now four budget airlines operating in India.

Speaking of India, the aviation industry in that country is booming. This is not just my opinion. An article on the DNA India website also quotes India's civil aviation minister Prafel Patel, who said that aviation is going to be "the next big thing" in India.

With the boom in the aviation industry and increasing number of private airlines, this is going to be the industry which will be a big draw for the youth.

For a glimpse of the kinds of aviation jobs that Air India is seeking to fill, have a look at the Present Vacancies page on the Air India website. Looks like they're aggressively hiring pilots, as well as technical personnel.