Free fall of Jet Airways flight scares passengers as pilot sleeps, co-pilot busy on tablet

Mumbai: The passengers of a Brussels-bound Jet Airways flight from Mumbai went through a horrifying experience when suddenly the plane dropped 5,000 feet in the Ankara airspace over Turkey. The aircraft was carrying 280 passengers. It is learnt that the commander of the Boeing 777 aircraft slept during that time on Friday and the co-pilot had been busy with her tablet. The co-pilot admitted that she was busy on her tablet and they failed in noticing that the place lost altitude and began falling. They were both summoned for questioning after which the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) suspended the duo for carelessness and taking 'controlled rest'. He termed it as a ‘serious incident’. The term controlled rest stands for a nap as per rules and negligence while on duty. The pilots came into action as they were alarmed by a call from Ankara ATC. A separate inquiry has been launched in the case by Jet. The DGCA has also set up a three-member team to review the airline's flight training programmes and facilities following the incident last Friday, official sources said, adding the team has been asked to submit their report by 31 August. DGCA has directed the airline to come forward with all related reports, as well as the records of the Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR) within this week, they said. The incident occurred when the Boeing 777-300, operating flight 9W-228 from Mumbai to Brussels and onwards to Newark, plunged from 34,000 feet to 29,000 feet while traversing on the busy air route to Europe. As the aircraft descended, the air traffic control at Ankara sent an emergency message to the aircraft asking the pilots why they had deviated from the assigned flight path and directed them to climb up to the designated height immediately. The commander said he was on "controlled rest", implying a short nap inside the cockpit which is allowed by flight operation procedures, the co-pilot told the regulator that she was working on her iPad or the electronic flight bag which has all aircraft documents loaded on to it, the sources said. Immediately after the Ankara ATC message, the co-pilot woke up the commander who restored the height of the plane. Confirming the incident, an airline spokesperson said Jet Airways has initiated an internal inquiry into the matter. "The airline is also extending all co-operation in the matter to the DGCA by providing all necessary assistance for the inquiry. Safety is of paramount importance to Jet Airways as is also the welfare of our guests and crew and the airline will always take appropriate steps to ensure the same," the spokesperson said. Following the incident, DGCA has constituted a team comprising officials from its Airworthiness, Air Safety and Flight Operations wings to audit Jet Airways' training procedures for pilots for an entire year.