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Six Miles Above Mother Earth



NEW DELHI: The Maharaja witnessed his first in-flight Mughal-e-Azam at
30,000 feet above sea level on Saturday, as two members of the cabin
crew—one male and one female—slugged it out with the pilot and
co-pilot, endangering the lives of 106 passengers and grossly
violating safety norms, the airline staffers came to blows in the
cockpit and galley of the Indian Airlines Airbus A-320 as the aircraft
cruised over Pakistan en route to Delhi via Lucknow from Sharjah.

The cabin-vs-cockpit tiff originated on the ground in Sharjah itself
and then turned into a full-blown fight once IC 884 took off soon
after midnight.

The cabin crew alleged that pilots harassed a 24-year-old female
colleague who later filed a molestation complaint against them with
the cops after the flight landed in Delhi.

The pilots, on the other hand, accused a male flight purser of
misconduct that seriously compromised flight safety, and said the
accusation of molestation aimed to protect the complainant's purser
friend—who has a commercial pilot licence (CPL)—from facing action.

No party denied that blows and abuses were exchanged as bewildered
passengers looked on. Sources said that the female cabin crewmember
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".

In Sharjah, the cabin crew went to meet Captain Ranbir Arora and
co-pilot Aditya Chopra for the pre-flight briefing. Both sides give different versions of what happened after this.

The cabin crew lobby said that after the initial tension on the ground
in Sharjah, when the woman crew member went into the cockpit, one of
the pilots held her hand and then pushed her out of the cockpit.

"She hit the cockpit door with such force that she started bleeding.
When Amit Khanna, the purser, saw her in this condition, he went to
the cockpit to ask what was happening. At this point, the pilots got
abusive and started a fight with him," said a representative of the IA
cabin crew, who added that the actual fight took place on the
Lucknow-Delhi segment.

Pilot sources claimed that despite his CPL, Khanna could not get a
pilot's job due to the downturn.

"The airhostess had announced flying time from Sharjah to Lucknow as
per the schedule, and not the actual one that the commander gives.
After taking off, the pilot scolded the airhostess and then called
Amit to the cockpit," said a source.

Khanna, the source added, entered the cockpit angrily and that's when
the fight started. "He became abusive, and tempers ran high in the
cockpit. Given the highly unsafe situation there, the commander said
he would divert to Karachi, to which Amit retorted, 'Jahan le jaana
hai, le jaao, is aircraft ko main bhi uda loonga (take it wherever you
want to, I can also fly)'," a pilot representative said, adding that
the fight occurred over Pakistan, while the plan was flying from
Sharjah to Lucknow. The woman crew member, the source explained, got
bruised when she entered the cockpit in the melee.

The cockpit was cleared, with pilots pushing out Amit and then locking
the door. After that, the plane landed in Lucknow at around 4.30 am.
"Amit then apologized to the pilots, and they took off for Delhi so
that the flight wasn't delayed. He later got the woman crew member to
level charges of molestation to avoid action for making a hostile
entry into the cockpit," said a source speaking on behalf of the
pilots.
The police are investigating the woman's complaint and have registered
a case against the pilot and co-pilot. "There are several eyewitnesses
and we are recording their statements," said joint CP (operations)
Satyendra Garg. The police had the victim examined at Safdarjung
Hospital, where her bruises were confirmed. A case was registered,
among others, under Section 354 for outraging the modesty of a woman.

The DGCA is fuming at the gross violation of safety norms on IC 884.
"The airline didn't even inform us of this incident in time. We're
going to summon the crew members on Monday. This incident is shocking
and we may need to take exemplary action," said a senior official.

Jinglies....................gotta luv em

Hope Pakis dont get blamed for this

LMAO @ Busa's comment.

Mate, I think it's "junglies" as in the root word is jungle - haven't heard that term in ages, but thanks for using it in the most apt scenario

Glorified waitresses, bus conductors and drivers. Whadya expect?