Jet Airways flight drops 5,000ft as pilot takes a nap; co-pilot busy browsing on iPad

In a year that has witnessed a number of aviation episodes, a potential incident was averted when a Jet Airways flight from Mumbai to Brussels dropped 5,000 feet in Ankara airspace while the pilot was having a ‘rest’.

The co-pilot, meanwhile, was busy on her tablet and reportedly claims she had no idea the plane had dropped in altitude.

A call from an alarmed Ankara ATC jolted the pilots into action.

The Jet Airways flight 9W 228, operating on a Boeing 777-300 ER, was reportedly flying at an altitude of 34,000 feet when it suddenly dropped.

Jet Airways confirmed it has initiated an inquiry into the incident, which occurred on August 8.

In a statement, the airline said: “Jet Airways has initiated an internal inquiry into the matter. The airline is also extending all co-operation in the matter to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation by providing all necessary assistance for the inquiry.

“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.”

A DGCA official quoted in the Economic Times, said: “In the initial inquiry, the co-pilot said that she was not aware of the reasons for descent and she was reading the flight manuals.

“This requires thorough investigation and only then will we be able to ascertain the reasons.”

Meanwhile, the carrier faced another incident today aboard its Delhi-Bhopal flight on August 14 due to an engine fire warning.

Jet Airways confirmed the incident, saying: “Jet Airways flight 9W 2654 from Delhi to Bhopal had a precautionary rejected take off at Delhi due to engine fire warning.

“The ATR aircraft has since been grounded at Delhi for inspection by the Jet Airways engineering staff. All the guests were deplaned safely and taken back to the terminal building without any event. The aircraft has since been changed and duly departed for its destination at 0850 hrs.”

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