In her grievance, Shilpa Mishra, senior cabin crew of Friday’s AI-130 flight, mentioned Dwivedi went to a rest room and the fireplace alarm went off inside minutes.
“On hearing the smoke alarm, I alerted the pilot and other crew members. We opened the lavatory door from outside. Dwivedi was found holding a cigarette lighter. He started hurling abuses when asked to be seated,” she mentioned.
Captain Sanjay Yadav, the pilot, requested the crew to warn him and he was quiet for a while. But bought up after some time, went to the plane emergency exit and tried to open it. As the crew and different passengers tried to cease him, he kicked one other passenger and hurled abuses. He was finally overpowered and brought to his seat.
“Dwivedi told the doctor that he was on medication. We inspected his bag and found no medicines. We found an e-cigarette instead,” the complainant mentioned. “The doctor administered two injections. Despite this, he didn’t calm down and we had to fasten his arms and legs to his seat,” a crew member mentioned.
Fire on an plane, if left unattended even for a couple of seconds, can unfold quickly, filling the cabin with smoke and endangering the lives of these on board. Depending on the plane’s altitude and the space to the closest airport, pilots of a cruising plane would want a minimal of 45-60 minutes, if no more, to deliver it to floor. Smoking, due to this fact, is strictly prohibited on flights.
An Air India spokesperson mentioned: “The regulator has been duly informed of the incident. We are extending all cooperation in the ongoing investigations. AI follows a zero tolerance policy for any behaviour that compromises the safety and security of passengers and staff.”
After being fined for not performing swiftly in two instances of drunk passengers allegedly urinating on a co-passenger or their seat, AI has been strictly reporting all unruly instances for motion.
(With inputs from New Delhi)