Airliner Overshot Destination Airport

It's apparently happened again. Four months after a go! Airlines CRJ cockpit crew fell asleep on the job during a short Hawaiian interisland flight, two Air India pilots are accused of doing the same thing.

The incident occurred June 4, reports the Times of India, and involved a flight from Jaipur to Mumbai. The flight, which originated in Dubai, has about 100 passengers onboard, claimed an unnamed source.

"After operating an overnight flight, fatigue levels peak -- and so the pilots dozed off after taking off from Jaipur," the source told The Associated Press.

According to the source, the aircraft continued on to its destination on autopilot. The aircraft then overshot Mumbai at cruise altitude, heading towards Goa.

"It was only after the aircraft reached Mumbai airspace that air traffic control realized it was not responding to any instructions and was carrying on its own course," the source said. "The aircraft should have begun its descent about 100 miles from Mumbai, but here it was still at cruising altitude. We checked for hijack."

ATC was eventually able to "buzz" the cockpit crew, and the plane returned to an uneventful landing at Mumbai.

Air India vigorously denied the claim the pilots were sleeping... though a spokesman for the airline admits one of its plane overshot Mumbai on June 4. "The report is absolutely incorrect, devoid of facts, misleading and irresponsible. It is a figment of imagination," Air India spokesman Jitender Bhargava told Agence-France Presse, adding the overshot was due to a communications problem.

"We have gone through the flight reports of the last 30 days. A plane did cross Mumbai for 15 kilometers because it had lost contact for a few moments," Bhargava said. "At those speeds 15 kilometres is covered in a very short time."

Bhargava also accused the Times of having an axe to grind... saying the paper was "batting for somebody."

FMI: www.airindia.com