Jet Airways grounds 4 pilots for clicking selfies onboard; investigation underway

Jet Airways has grounded four pilots for clicking selfies onboard a training flight on April 19. An investigation is currently underway to further probe the matter. The grounded officials include a senior instructor level commander and three trainee pilots.

The Jet Airways flight was a training flight from Leh to Delhi and did not have any passengers onboard. Even though there were no passengers, clicking pictures onboard violates flight norms.

In a statement, Jet Airways said, "Acting in the interest of guest safety, Jet Airways has placed four crew members off their scheduled duties.  The crew members are adding an internal investigation being conducted by the airline in connection with certain events aboard a training flight of April 19." "At Jet Airways, safety is of paramount importance," the statement further added.

This is not a one-off incident. Only last month two Jet Airways pilots were suspended for allowing a woman friend inside the cockpit the for the entire flight duration onboard a Goa-Mumbai flight. While the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) grounded the two pilots, they were back to their jobs the very next day and during the suspension period. A Jet Airways spokesperson called it an administrative oversight.

Before that, in January this year, DGCA suspended the flying licence of a senior Jet Airways pilot for allegedly slapping a female commander onboard a London-Mumbai flight. The female crew member was also expelled by DGCA. Besides physically assaulting the woman commander, the pilot also left the cockpit unattended twice, which is in violation of the safety norms leading to the suspension of his licence, according to the official.

(With PTI inputs)