Air Turbulence: Two Pilots Grounded After Allegedly Leaving Cockpit at 30,000 Feet to Punch Out Flight Crew

I have heard of air turbulence but this is ridiculous. Two Air India pilots — identified as Commander Ranbeer Arora and Captain Aditya Chopra — are grounded after they allegedly left the cockpit of their Airbus A320 to punched flight crew members who accused them of sexual harassment — in front of freaked out passengers.

An air hostess accused the men of sexual harassment and then the fight began at 30,000 feet with punches and flight members screaming at each other.

The flight was originally scheduled to fly from the United Arab Emirates to Delhi. However, in a unique touch, a pilot reportedly threatened to land the plane in Pakistan.

It appears that the trouble may have started during the pre-flight briefing at Sharjah airport in the UAE when a
24-year-old stewardess accused one of the flight deck crew of trying to molest her and then pushing her out of the cockpit.

Arora and Chopra are being investigated for “assault or use of criminal force against a woman with intent to outrage her modesty”. “Outrage her modesty” seems a bit understated but surely does not capture the outrage of the passengers.

In the United States, passengers would have some interesting negligent infliction of emotional distress claims.

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