Woman in cockpit: DGCA’s show cause notices to Air India CEO, head of flight safety

New Delhi, April 30

Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued a show cause notice to Air India CEO Campbell Wilson regarding the Dubai-Delhi flight where pilots invited a female friend in the cockpit.

A show cause notice has also been issued to the chief of flight safety for delaying the investigation and not reporting to the concerned authority, official sources said.

Both CEO and chief of flight safety are to file a reply to the show cause notice, said DGCA sources.

Earlier, a cabin crew member of the flight had filed a complaint with the DGCA about the pilot allowing a female friend into the cockpit.

The incident had occurred on February 27.

The show cause notices were issued to the Air India CEO and head of flight safety on April 21 for not doing timely reporting of the incident to the DGCA, which is in violation of the regulator's safety instructions.

Apart from this, there was a delay in investigating the incident. Both the executives have been given 15 days to respond to the show cause notices, the official said.

There was no immediate comment from Air India. Earlier this month, DGCA directed Air India to deroster the entire crew of the Dubai-Delhi flight till investigations are complete.

On April 21, the airline said it had taken serious note of the reported incident and that investigations were underway.

--IANS