Woman co-pilot lands jet solo

New Delhi: Jet's flight 9W 561 took off from Sharjah for Kochi with an expatriate commander and an Indian co-pilot in her mid-20s. En route, the commander took ill and the co-pilot had to take over the flight. The aircraft made an emergency landing in Kochi and requested for an ambulance so that the commander could get immediate medical help on the tarmac itself without any delay.
"The Sharjah-Kochi flight 9W 561 landed safely at 5.35am (on Thursday). The captain developed a medical condition during the flight and, as per the standard operating procedures (SOP) in these conditions, the co-pilot took over. As a precaution, medical assistance was requested. All passengers were safely deplaned. All crew members are trained to handle these and other unusual situations during their simulator training every six months," an airline spokesperson said.
According to sources, the commander suffered stomach cramps during the flight because of which he was out of action.
While pilots agree incapacitated crew situations do arise, they point out that the health check standards in India for foreign pilots is very lax as compared to their own benchmarks.
Experts said when a pilot is incapacitated, the drill for the working pilot is clearly laid out. The working pilot should remain seated in his or her seat and not try to take the captain's place (in case it's the captain who is indisposed). The working pilot should put the aircraft on full automation and discuss the go-around procedure, if needed, with ground control. The incapacitated pilot's seat should be put on reclining position and the pilot strapped on to it to avoid the possibility of him touching any control switches. The working pilot should also call for a passenger list to check if there are any other pilots on board to replace the indisposed one.
19/03/10 Saurabh Sinha/Economic Times

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Categories: Airports Mar 2010, Jet Airways Mar 2010, Safety Mar 2010