Jet Airways commander 'slaps' female peer, both grounded

Mumbai: Aviation regulator DGCA on Wednesday suspended the flying licence of a senior Jet Airways pilot who allegedly slapped a female commander of the airline's London- Mumbai flight on January 1.

The pilot's flying licence has been suspended pending investigation, a senior official of the DGCA said. Jet Airways have grounded the two senior pilots since the incident.

Besides physically assaulting the woman commander, the pilot also left the cockpit unattended twice, which is in violation of the safety norms leading to the suspension of his licence, according to the official.

The aircraft was in the Iran-Pakistan airspace and was 2.45 hours away from its destination when the incident took place, an airline source said.

When contacted, a Jet Airways spokesperson said there was a "misunderstanding" between the cockpit crew and the same was "resolved amicably" and "quickly". "A misunderstanding occurred between the cockpit crew of 9W119 London-Mumbai flight on January 1. However, the same was quickly resolved amicably, and the flight with 324 guests including two infants and 14 crew members completed its journey in Mumbai safely," the airline spokesperson said.

However, the source alleged that the male pilot who has been working with the airline for over a decade had some "argument" with the female commander.