Last Friday, a Jet Airways plane rapidly descended 5,000 feet over the country of Turkey. It’s currently suspected the pilot fell asleep which contributed to the aircraft suddenly dropping.
Last week, a Jet Airways plane en route from Mumbai to Brussels rapidly descended 5,000 feet over the country of Turkey. It’s currently suspected that while the pilot was taking a controlled nap, his co-pilot may have been preoccupied with an electronic tablet which contributed to sudden loss of altitude.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation in India is investigating the circumstances of the incident to determine if the pilot was in fact on a scheduled nap, and why the co-pilot did not notice what was happening in the cock-pit.
She claimed she didn’t notice the change in flight level as she was busy using the device. The mistake wasn’t realized until an emergency call came in from Ankara Air Traffic Control, inquiring why the flight had moved from the assigned altitude of 34,000 feet .
Reportedly the co-pilot quickly woke up the pilot who pulled the plane up to 32,000 feet. An airline spokesperson confirmed the incident and stated “Safety is of paramount importance to Jet Airways as is also the welfare of our guests and crew and the airline will always take appropriate steps to ensure the same.”
Both the pilot and co-pilot have been grounded while the investigation continues. Neither one reported a flight safety report, which is required when anything out of the ordinary occurs in the air.
