The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued a show cause notice to Air India CEO Campbell Wilson regarding the Dubai-Delhi flight where a pilot invited a female friend into the cockpit. Show cause notice has also been issued to the Chief of Flight Safety and Quality Functions Henry Donohoe for delaying the investigation and not reporting to the concerned authority. According to ANI, both CEO and Chief of flight safety are to file a reply to the show cause notice within 15 days.
As per PTI, a cabin crew member of the flight had filed a complaint with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) about the pilot allowing a female friend into the cockpit.
The incident happened on February 27, reported PTI. A senior DGCA official told PTI that the show cause notices were issued to the Air India CEO and head of flight safety on April 21 for not doing timely reporting of the incident to DGCA, which is in violation of the regulator's safety instructions. Besides, the report added, there was a delay in investigating the incident.
Notably, earlier this month, DGCA directed Air India to deroster the entire crew of the Dubai-Delhi flight till investigations are complete. On April 21, the airline said it had taken serious note of the reported incident and that investigations were underway.
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The airline recently made headlines after a urination incident on its New York-New Delhi flight. On Tuesday, nearly two months after the incident, Air India announced that it has completed its internal investigation and will assist the flight's pilot-in-command with an appeal against the DGCA's suspension of his licence, which the airline considers "excessive." The DGCA suspended the pilot's licence for three months last week, fined Air India Rs 30 lakh, and fined the airline's in-flight services director Rs 3 lakh, all in connection with the urination incident on November 26, 2022.