When the crew became the crisis: Air India’s 2009 mid-air brawl

The flight carrying 106 passengers from Sharjah to Delhi via Lucknow witnessed a mid-air confrontation that raised questions about cockpit discipline and flight safetyThe recent flydubai incident has highlighted an unusual aviation danger: what happens when those responsible for flying an aircraft become part of the crisis themselves.Captain Smit Machchhar was reportedly attacked by his co-pilot during a flight, triggering a dangerous descent before the injured captain managed to open the cockpit door and allow others to intervene. The aircraft eventually landed safely.Seventeen years earlier, an Indian Airlines (then a subsidiary of Air India) flight witnessed a mid-air confrontation that raised similar questions about cockpit discipline and flight safety.A fight at 30,000 feetOn October 3, 2009, Indian Airlines flight IC-884 was carrying 106 passengers from Sharjah to Delhi via Lucknow. While cruising at around 30,000 feet over Pakistan, Captain Ranbir Arora and co-pilot Aditya Chopra became embroiled in a dispute with flight purser Amit Khanna and flight attendant Komal Singh.Reports said the confrontation spilled between the cockpit and galley while the Airbus A320 was airborne.The dispute had begun before take-off from Sharjah.From argument to violenceIn Sharjah, the cabin crew met Captain Ranbir Arora and co-pilot Aditya Chopra for a pre-flight briefing, during which the two sides were believed to have had an altercation.“The cabin crew lobby said that after the initial tension on the ground in Sharjah, when the woman crew member [Komal Singh] went into the cockpit, one of the pilots held her hand and then pushed her out of the cockpit,” according to a TOI report. She reportedly hit the cockpit door and began bleeding.Khanna then intervened, according to a cabin crew representative, who alleged that the pilots became abusive and fought with him.The pilots denied the allegation. They instead accused Khanna of misconduct that they claimed had compromised flight safety. The pilots also alleged that the molestation complaint was “aimed to protect the complainant’s purser friend — who has a commercial pilot licence (CPL) — from facing action”, the report added.After landing in Delhi, Singh filed a molestation complaint against the two pilots.There were also reports that the cockpit was briefly left effectively “unmanned” while the confrontation continued outside. Some accounts said Arora threatened to divert the aircraft to Karachi. These claims were not independently established.Investigations and falloutSingh’s allegations triggered a separate investigation. Air India set up a five-member committee, while the National Commission for Women formed a five-member panel.Delhi Police recorded Singh’s statement and registered a molestation case.Air India confirmed the fight and ordered an inquiry, while the Directorate General of Civil Aviation initiated a probe. All four crew members were grounded.The airline’s preliminary inquiry concluded that Arora and Khanna had played a greater role. Both were suspended, while Chopra and Singh remained grounded. The Indian Commercial Pilots Association questioned the action against Arora, saying the findings were not final.Air India later filed departmental chargesheets against all four. Singh was charged with participating in the altercation, failing to leave the cockpit when directed and speaking to the media in breach of company policy.Arora faced allegations including abusive language and pushing Khanna and Singh from the cockpit, while Khanna was accused of initiating the fight.An airline official said the preliminary inquiry found all four guilty of some charges, including conduct that tarnished the company's reputation.The episode became more than a workplace dispute. It showed how a personal conflict among crew members can spill into an aircraft's operational environment — and put flight safety under strain.Read the detailed storyThe 2009 Air India Brawl at 30,000 feet that put 106 passengers at riskGet the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.