[KnowItAll]

So, if you have not been convinced to avoid Air India by our previous discussions, here's a gem.

Mumbai aircraft lost radio contact: AI-India-The Times of India

MUMBAI: "The aircraft going beyond Mumbai can be attributed only to loss of radio contact," said a statement issued by Air India in response to a report carried by TOI on Thursday on an AI flight which overflew Mumbai even as its pilots snoozed in the cockpit.

The report had stated that two pilots of Air India flight 612 from Jaipur to Mumbai had, earlier this month, dozed off and overflown their destination. The incident took place on June 4, just after 7 am, when the pilots took off from Jaipur and put the aircraft on autopilot, sources said. Prior to this flight the pilots had operated a Dubai-Jaipur flight.

An Air India spokesperson said that the commander and his co-pilot had availed of 24 hours of rest in Dubai prior to operating the flight and so there was no question of the crew being fatigued. Air India said that its pilots were not asleep and that "(they) had temporarily lost contact with the ATC and therefore the aircraft had strayed 10-15 kilometres away from Mumbai". The airline also stated that the aircraft "going beyond Mumbai can be attributed only to loss of radio contact".

Beats most if not all horror stories about airlines in China.

[KnowItAll]

Original story here ..

Plane overshoots Mumbai as both pilots go to sleep-India-The Times of India

MUMBAI: An Air India Jaipur-Mumbai flight flew well past its destination with both its pilots fatigued and fast asleep in the cockpit. When the pilots were finally woken up by anxious Mumbai air traffic controllers, the plane was about half way to Goa. ( Watch )

This nap in the sky took place about a fortnight ago on the domestic leg of a Dubai-Jaipur-Mumbai flight — IC 612 — which had about 100 passengers on board. "The plane took off from Dubai at 1.35am IST and then from Jaipur at 7am. After operating an overnight flight, fatigue levels peak, and so the pilots dozed off after taking off from Jaipur," said a source.

The flight schedules of pilots prior to this flight is not known.

The aircraft was supposed to take the A 474 South route — a designated route to Mumbai — and since it was on autopilot, it headed in that direction. "It was only after the aircraft reached Mumbai airspace that air traffic controllers realized it was not responding to any instructions and was carrying on on its own course," said the source.

[DanielandHayley]

In the words of Alan Partridge...'Unbelievable..'

[via]

Yeah, saw this one earlier. Both pilots feel asleep and the plane "overshoot" the airport by 160KM.

[xxxlionxxx]

Originally Posted by KnowItAll

Beats most if not all horror stories about airlines in China.

You gotta be kidding me....you're way too underestimating, my fellow people, their capability of screwing things up in the air

[KnowItAll]

Well, my favorite story about airlines in China is two pilots locking themselves out of the cockpit, because they went on a walk-about in the plane. This was in the mid 90s and did appear in the SCMP.

Not heard much about recent cockups up north.

[BlueValentine]

Haha, that was indeed hilarious. Those jokers took the plane half way to Goa before turning back.

Perhaps, subconciously they wanted to have some sun, sand and babes in goa I perceive

[Claire ex-ax]

To be fair, the pilots may not have been sleeping; they may have just been pissed...

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Around 50 pilots each year in India are being grounded because they had consumed alcohol before taking a flight, the country's civil aviation authorities said Tuesday.

The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), a body controlling airline operations in India, said dozens of pilots are found to have consumed alcohol during routine pre-medical tests every year.

India is one of the fastest growing aviation markets in the world with dozens of new airlines competing with each other everyday, often resulting in pilots forced to fly at short notices.

The country has about 4,500-5,000 commercial pilots, and another 2,500 are undergoing training.

Civil aviation rules specify that pilots and cabin crew cannot consume alcohol 12 hours before taking a flight.

"We do catch pilots who had taken alcohol routinely and so does the airlines," Kanu Gohain, a top DGCA official told Reuters Tuesday.

"We have strict guidelines for alcohol intake and any operating crew is pulled up immediately, and the airlines too can punish crew members," he said by telephone from Mumbai.

A pilot can be grounded for three months and he can lose his license if he repeats the mistake again, Gohain added.

A flight from India's capital to the eastern city of Patna was cancelled Saturday after a routine medical test on crew members revealed the pilot had consumed alcohol.

(Reporting by Bappa Majumdar; Editing by Alistair Scrutton and Sanjeev Miglani)

[Lammarite]

Maybe they were sleeping off their hangovers.

Pilots in India often fail alcohol tests.

[Lammarite]

Originally Posted by Claire ex-ax

To be fair, the pilots may not have been sleeping; they may have just been pissed...

Ooohhhh- sneaky, you beat me to it by a couple of minutes!