NEW DELHI: An Air India flight from Bengaluru to Delhi on Friday morning had anxious moments after the pilot collapsed just minutes before take-off. An alternate pilot was arranged and the flight took off 90 minutes later. It may be recalled that the aviation watchdog, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, had recently come down heavily on Air India for the roster system adopted for its pilots and had ordered the transfer of three top officials involved in preparing it.Flight AI 2414 was supposed to take off by 3 am on July 4 from Terminal 2 of the Kempeowda International Airport. A pilot was reported to have fallen seriously ill inside the cockpit of the flight just before departure. The flight departed at 4:36 am, 90 minutes behind schedule, according to a flight tracking website. It reached New Delhi by 7.30 am. Air India confirmed the incident.In a statement, it said, “There was a medical emergency involving one of our pilots in the early hours of July 4. As a result, the pilot was unable to operate the flight AI2414 from Bengaluru to Delhi, which he was rostered for, and was taken to a local hospital immediately.” “He is currently stable but continues to be under the supervision of doctors at the same hospital. Our immediate priority is to assist the pilot and his family to ensure his speedy recovery,” the airline said.Consequently, AI2414 was operated by another pilot.
Source link
