Levelling serious allegations against the captain of the Phuket-Delhi flight which lost altitude and plummeted 300 feet last week, a passenger who was on the plane said the pilot was visibly high before the plane took off and, after the incident, asked passengers not to record anything, saying ” baat ka batangad ban jayega ” (it would be making a mountain out of a molehill).
What Happened
Speaking exclusively to NDTV’s Shiv Aroor on Tuesday, hours after sources said that the captain of the plane had failed two dope tests and had smoked marijuana, the passenger, who requested that his name not be revealed, also questioned why the pilot did not make an emergency landing to ensure the injured could get immediate medical attention. In a statement later on Tuesday, the Ministry of Civil Aviation said the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has begun investigating the incident. Air India’s outgoing CEO Campbell Wilson met senior ministry officials on Tuesday and minister Ram Mohan Naidu said the incident is being taken very seriously.
I was made fun of. There were memes and everything. People asked how I thought he could fly when high,” he recalled. Emergency Landing “For the first time in my life, I saw a pilot come out of the cockpit and then coach the passengers not to record or not do this or that. His clear statement, which has been recorded in videos as well, was ‘baat ka batangad ban jayega’ . We were in a life-and-death situation; who is so worried about being recorded? His major concern was not how he could ensure medical treatment for everyone. His thing was to land in Delhi, so he didn’t have to answer any questions or anything like that. So he did not make any emergency landing anywhere else,” the passenger alleged. “We wanted to get a direct update from Air India also on the incident and we wanted to see how they are approaching the issue. There shouldn’t be any compromise from any side – the regulator, airlines or anyone else.
At least 13 passengers and four crew members suffered injuries in the incident.
“After the first test, which the pilot failed, I called my brother and told him (we were right). When we were leaving the airport, a media person asked us about the incident, and I said the pilot appeared to be high. I have said time and again that safety in aviation is the ministry’s topmost priority. This issue has been taken very seriously by the ministry as well,” he said.
