Jet Airways grounds two pilots who let 'lady friend' fly in cockpit
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The carrier has grounded two commanders who allowed a female friend to sit in the cockpit for the duration of the flight. (iStock)
It was a joy ride gone wrong.
Two Jet Airways commanders in India have been officially grounded by the carrier for allowing an unauthorized "lady friend" to sit in the cockpit for the duration of the trip from Goa to Mumbai.
The pilots are now in even bigger trouble, as they ignored a temporary month-long license suspension from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and illicitly agreed to fly again for Jet Airways, the Times of India reported on April 14. Both went through simulator training, and one pilot even operated a flight during their initial grounding period.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}ARIZONA RESIDENTS WILL SOON NEED 'TRAVEL ID' TO BOARD PLANES
For their part, Jet Airways has blamed an organizational oversight as the root of the escalating trouble in what the Times has dubbed “the lady-in-cockpit episode.”
“An administrative oversight led to a Jet Airways pilot, currently off flying duties, being assigned a training flight after completing a ground training session,” an airline spokesman told the outlet. “The company has proactively reported the event to the DGCA and has already fixed the gap in the assignment process, to prevent its reoccurrence, following an internal investigation.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}GUEST GOES OVERBOARD ON P&O CRUISE: IT WAS 'WORST THING I’VE SEEN ON A CRUISE,' SAYS PASSENGER
DGCA official Lalit Gupta told Jet Airways that the pilot’s actions aboard flight 9W 762 on January 8 “compromised with the safety of aircraft operations and its occupants,” a disgrace to the “privilege of their pilots licenses.”
As of press time, the status of the pilot's employment with Jet Airways is not immediately clear, as the carrier did not immediately return Fox News’ request for comment.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}