Chennai Airport: Investigations launched as Air India pilot derostered for assaulting flight engineer

Air India is embroiled in yet another controversy as reports emerged that a pilot from the airline had attacked a flight engineer at the Chennai Airport. The pilot has been derostered after the assault. “The commander (pilot) of the flight has been taken off the roster. The incident is being investigated by the management,” confirmed an Air India Spokesperson to PTI. Airline spokesman GP Rao also says that the authorities have ordered an inquiry into Saturday’s incident, which delayed the flight by an hour with 122 passengers on board. Rao says the flight departed after another pilot replaced the one involved in the incident, adding that it was not immediately known what triggered the clash. [caption id=“attachment_2006075” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Air India pilot dereostered after he assaults engineer in cockpit. Reuters[/caption] According to an NDTV report , “Manicklal and the engineer Kannan had an argument inside the cockpit over delay in flight departure following which the pilot assaulted the engineer.” The assault was quite severe as it left the engineer bleeding from his nose and he had to be rushed to the hospital for first aid, notes the report. Meanwhile, the pilot locked himself up in the cockpit after the fight. According to other television reports, the fight meant that the Air India flight AI 143 from Chennai to Paris was delayed by 2 hours as the engineer went to file an FIR of the incident. The transit passengers are still stuck in Chennai and will likely to miss their next flight but they will be adjusted on other flights, says a report in DNA . The flight, however, took off with a new crew around noon after the delay. Times Now has reported that Air India engineers have gone on a strike in Chennai after the incident. Air India has issued a statement saying they are currently investigating the incident and the pilot has been derostered. The DGCA is seeking a report on the alleged incident.