New Delhi:
An Air India Express flight nose dived 7000 feet as the pilot took a bathroom break. The incident took place on May 26, just four days after the fatal Mangalore crash involving another Air India Express flight in which 158 people died.
The co-pilot was attempting to adjust his seat forward, when he pressed the control column and sent the plane into a 26-degree nose dive.
The disclosure came in a report by Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The May 26 flight from Dubai to Pune carried 113 passengers. No one was injured and the aircraft did not sustain any damage.
The aircraft's senior pilot was on a bathroom break and couldn't get into the cockpit. The pilot had to use an emergency access code to get back into the cockpit, and managed to pull the plane out of the deadly nose dive.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation notes in its report the senior pilot was away from the cockpit for just over one minute.
Here's the full text of the DGCA report: