Anarchy in the cockpit: Air India co-pilot attacks captain on Jaipur-Delhi flight

In the backdrop of aviation disasters such as the Germanwings crash, an Air India flight from to Delhi from Jaipur on Sunday had some tense moments when an argument between the captain and co-pilot, led to the co-pilot reportedly hitting his superior. [caption id=“attachment_1965231” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  An Air India flight. AP[/caption] The Times of India quoted an unnamed source as saying that the fight was sparked off by the captain asking his deputy to note critical data like the number of passengers on board, take off weight and other details for a card that is kept in front of them for the flight for reference. However, the co-pilot reportedly ’took offence’ and attacked the captain. Despite the incident, the flight took off and a complaint was later filed by the captain in Mumbai. A CNN-IBN report quoted the group head of Air India as saying that the two pilots had a minor argument and have been de-rostered. He, however, denied the report of a physical altercation between the two. The event comes even as the Director General of Civil Aviation has initiated discussion with Directorate of Medical Services, to come up with a norm that conducts regular check ups of pilots to evaluate their psychological health, according to this Times of India report. Presently the nine domestic carriers airlines in India only conduct tests to check pilots’ mental state at their initial induction. No further follow up is carried out. The incident comes after a body representing pilots on Air India had earlier written to the DGCA saying that they were being overworked. According to a letter, sent to the DGCA by the Indian Commercial Pilots Association, co-pilots were being forced to work overtime without adequate remuneration. “Putting these highly-stressed and financially over-burdened co-pilots in the same cockpit… is a perfect recipe for disaster,” said ICPA said in the letter, according to this NDTV report, adding, “At times of equipment malfunction, turbulence or emergency, a pilot must remain calm… How can an Air India pilot perform his duties in such a manner when he is already highly stressed?” It also doesn’t help that mental ailments are also frowned upon in the industry, and it makes it that much more difficult for employees to reveal a history of illness or ongoing treatment to their employers. The New York Times reveals that Andreas Lubitz, the pilot at the controls of the Germanwings jetliner, had a mental illness but kept the diagnosis hidden from his employers. In this Time magazine op-ed, Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger III, a retired US Airways captain states what he thinks are the right measures to ensure the safety of pilots and air crafts. “We need a system that combines screening, self-reporting – and a healthy dose of realism,” he says, adding that trust is a bigger factor than regimented vigilance, “The public must be able to trust pilots, and pilots must be able to trust that they will be treated justly and not punitively should they develop a mental health problem. Rigid new rules would only keep mental health issues underground, where they can never be solved.”