Air India de-rosters two pilots, crew members for mid-air scuffle

New Delhi, Oct 4(ANI): Air India on Sunday de-rostered two pilots and crew members over allegations that they threw punches and hurled abuses at each other mid-air on AI flight IC 884 from Sharjah (United Arab Emirates) to New Delhi after a female attendant accused the pilots of molesting her.

The incident took place, when the flight carrying 106 passengers and seven crew on board, was 30,000 feet above sea level over Pakistan on Saturday. "Taking a serious view of the incident, the management has de-rostered the pilots and two crew members. Further course of action will be decided based on the enquiry report," an Air India spokesperson said

According to reports, at one point the situation went so out of control that the cockpit of the airline was even left unmanned, and one of the pilots threatened to divert the plane to Karachi.

Meanwhile, Captain Ranbir Arora, has played down the entire incident and said that there was never any risk to passengers and added that the ongoing inquiry will reveal the details soon, a Times Now report said on Sunday evening.

A female attendant and a co-pilot have suffered bruises in the incident.

The cabin crew lobby claims that the pilots harassed the female attendant, while on the other hand, the pilots accuse a male attendant of misconduct, which seriously compromised flight safety.

The female attendant has also filed a molestation complaint against them with the police. (ANI)