In case you haven’t heard, planes are safe now. In presumably that spirit, a flight this week included an unusually frantic moment,after one pilot slapped his co-pilot, according to multiple reports. Both stormed out of the cockpit, leaving the Jet Airways flight with 324 passengers onboard briefly unattended.
Jet Airways told the BBC that there was a “misunderstanding” between the cockpit crew during the New Year’s Day flight from London to Mumbai, but other reports portray a more-colorful, almost-certainly-unnerving scene for passengers.
Witnesses said the situation broke out after the flight’s male pilot slapped his female co-pilot during an argument, Agence France-Presse reports:
Reports in several Indian newspapers, quoting unnamed sources, said the midair altercation led the female pilot to leave the cockpit in tears and she had to be persuaded to go back in by cabin crew.
At one point, the male pilot also left the cockpit, leaving the controls briefly unattended, the Times of India claimed.
Both pilots have been “de-rostered” pending the outcome of an internal investigation, according to the BBC.
Weirdly, Jet appeared to downplay the significance of the fight, saying in a statement that the issue was “quickly resolved amicably.”
But it all gives new meaning to the term “fighter” pilot.
Get it, guys?
Fighter pilot.
Heh. Fighter pilot.
Bye.