New Delhi:
The pilot who sounded a hijack alert when four passengers tried to force their way into the cockpit of her plane has outlined her side of the story in a detailed police complaint.
On Friday, Captain Rupali Waghmare, who is in her early 40s with over 15 years of flying experience, landed in Thiruvananthapuram instead of Kochi because of fog. There were nearly 150 passengers on board the Air India flight from Abu Dhabi.
Of the group that allegedly accosted her, triggering her to sound a hijack SOS, she says, "They barricaded the aircraft and cockpit and did not allow anyone to enter or leave for 5 hours. Myself and my co-captain were separately threatened to be killed. They had overpowered the ground personnel and also assaulted the cabin crew to forcibly and unlawfully enter the flight deck and threaten me with death if we did not comply with their wishes and fly back to Cochin."
She ends by saying, "I request you to take immediate action against the disruptive passengers who were causing unlawful interference to the flight."
Sources in the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the airline regulator, have confirmed that four people entered the cockpit, which is illegal. But other passengers say those reports are exaggerated. They claim that after they landed in Thiruvananthapuram, they were told that the crew's shift had ended and that a replacement crew would board the plane. This triggered worries about more delays. Passengers also say they were kept waiting on the plane without air-conditioning for several hours, while a committee of airport officials met to decide whether the hijack alert could be safely dismissed and the plane could take off.
Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy said today that Air India's actions amounted to "sheer cruelty." He confirmed that the state police are investigating the incident and said, "The hapless passengers were even dubbed as hijackers...this is deplorable and we express strong protest over it."
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