Co-Pilot Panics After Inadvertently Pushing Control Column, Locking Captain Out Of The Cockpit

He just wanted to be a little more comfortable, but when the co-pilot of an Air India Express Boeing 737 went to adjust his seat, he inadvertently pushed the control column forward and put the plane into a steep dive. To make matters worse, he panicked and could not return to straight and level flight, nor could he unlock the door to let the captain ... who had taken a bathroom break ... back into the cockpit.

File Photo

India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) says the captain was forced to use an emergency code to access the cockpit of the airplane. By the time he had regained control of the aircraft, it had lost about 6,000 feet in altitude.

Australia's news.com.au reports that no one was injured in the May 26th incident, though there was "complete commotion" in the cabin of the airplane as unsecured items fell into the aisle. The reported indicated that the pilot had to struggle with the co-pilot to regain control of the airplane, saying the two applied opposite control inputs on the control column. The report found that the co-pilot "probably had no clue to tackle this kind of emergency."

The DGCA report indicated that "appropriate action" would be taken against the crewmember involved.

FMI: www.dgca.nic.in