Air India stewardesses fly plane while pilots take a nap in business class
Updated: 04 May 2013
Two Air India pilots have been suspended after getting a couple of flight attendants to fly their plane so they could nap for 40 minutes in business class.
The stunt nearly ended disastrously after one of the crew accidentally switched off the auto-pilot mode and the pilots were forced to rush back to the cockpit on the Airbus 321 from Bangkok to Delhi on April 12.
First Officer Ravindra Nath was the first to take a break, saying he needed to use the bathroom 30 minutes into the flight when the plane was 33,000 feet in the air.
He got flight attendant J Bhatt to occupy his seat, which an Air India source told the Times of India is standard procedure in case something happens so they can immediately call the pilot back.
"What actually happened after this made a mockery of air safety," the source said.
Only a few moments later, co-pilot Captain BK Soni called flight attendant Kanika Kala into the cockpit, spent a few minutes teaching her how to operate the controls, put the plane on auto-pilot and left.
There were 166 passengers on board the plane while the pilots were sleeping.
Officials said all four employees had been suspended.
