The Flydubai incident, in which one of the pilots allegedly attempted to crash a Tel Aviv-bound plane, has rocked the globe. According to flight data, Flight FZ 1073 plunged to 17,400 feet within two minutes as a scuffle broke out inside the cockpit. One of the pilots, believed to be an Omani national, tried to take control of the aircraft and stabbed the co-pilot, an Indian national.
The Indian pilot, identified as Captain Smit Machchhar, “managed to prevent a 9/11 disaster,” told CNN.
As investigators probe the motive behind the pilot’s alleged actions, here are some bizarre incidents inside aircraft cockpits that have caused trouble for pilots.
In 2018, two pilots of were grounded for allowing a female friend to enter the cockpit of a Goa-Mumbai flight. She reportedly remained in the cockpit until the flight landed in Mumbai.
In 2013, a Kuwait Airways pilot was penalised for allegedly allowing a former porn star to visit the cockpit.
According to The Washington Post, former porn star Chloe Mafia claimed that a married pilot operating a Kuwait Airways flight from London to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport invited her and a friend into the cockpit.
According to Mafia, the pilot offered them champagne, allowed one of them to sit on his lap while he smoked, and allegedly let them handle some of the aircraft’s controls during the flight.
In 2018, two senior Jet Airways pilots were suspended after an argument between them escalated, with the male commander allegedly slapping his female co-pilot on a London-Mumbai flight, according to news agency ANI.
The incident unfolded over Iran-Pakistan airspace, around 2.45 hours from Mumbai.
In 2023, two SpiceJet pilots were taken off the roster after a photograph showing a cup of beverage kept on the cockpit’s centre console during a flight was shared on social media and drew widespread criticism.
One of the pilots was also seen holding a ‘gujiya’ (a sweet dish), while another piece of ‘gujiya’ was kept near the cup.
An Air India flight was diverted in 2013 after its commander was locked out of the cockpit when the door malfunctioned following a brief toilet break.
According to the BBC’s report on the incident, Flight AI 403 was flying from Delhi to Bengaluru when the cockpit door became jammed. The co-pilot reportedly attempted to open it from inside the cockpit but was unable to do so.
“The commander of the flight had left the cockpit for a short while to visit the toilet, and on returning to the cockpit found the door locked. The door had jammed, and all efforts to open the door, even from inside by the co-pilot, failed,” Air India said in a statement at the time.
