Mumbai: Abusive Air India pilot tried to hit me, alleges DGCA official

Air India pilot Captain Rajneesh Sharma

A DGCA official has accused an Air India pilot of abusing and misbehaving with him during his visit to the airline's airport office at Santacruz for a simulator check. He has filed a complaint with the airport police and also emailed it to the Mumbai police commissioner and the additional commissioner.

Captain Charanvir Singh Randhawa, the deputy chief flying inspector at Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), filed a complaint against Captain Rajneesh Sharma on June 3 when the incident happened. But his statement was recorded only on Thursday, June 18. He told mid-day, "I filed a written complaint to the airport police on June 3 and they recorded my statement 15 days later. Now, let's see how much time will they take for further proceedings."

In his complaint, Capt Randhawa stated, "After carrying out the checks of Capt Pankaj Agrawail and Capt Datta on B-77 simulator at Air India, Old Airport, Santacruz East, I was filing up forms in a briefing room along with Capt Datta when Capt Sharma entered in an aggressive mood..."

He alleged that Capt Sharma was angry that the DGCA made him prepare the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for anti-COVID-19 measures for the use of simulators. "He was explained that these measures were based on the Centre's guidelines to stem the spread of COVID-19. He started abusing and said that he is being overworked as the airline is forcing him to fly and attend office during the lockdown."

"Forgetting the physical distancing rules, he came too close to my face to hit me. As he was not even wearing a mask, particles of his spit landed on my face as he yelled. Such outbursts are totally detrimental to air safety and could lead to accidents on flights," Capt Randhawa said. He added that the pilot has a record of such outbursts.

Senior Inspector of Airport Police Station Sangram Pache told mid-day, "Captain Randhawa has made a written complaint to the police, which we are investigating... We will now take the statement of others present on the spot on the day of the incident and also examine the CCTV cameras."

Captain R Bajpai of Air India said, "The matter is in active consideration with us and we are looking into it."

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