In what appears to be an acute case of selfie love, a Jet Airways pilot allowed his friends and colleagues to access the highly sensitive cockpit area and pose for pictures - displaying utter disregard for civil aviation safety guidelines.
The pilot turned the cockpit of the Boeing jet he was flying into a favorite location for selfies, some of which feature him craning out of an open window and posing.
The matter came to light after Sahil Arora, the pilot in question, uploaded the pictures on his Facebook page. Among the many pictures he posted were images of official documents with details of precious items like gold bars that were being ferried in the plane.
In one of the photographs, Arora can be seen posing with crew members for a selfie. In another he is seen with a woman friend as an elderly gentleman occupies the pilot’s seat. Yet another photo shows the same woman fiddling with the cockpit panel.
Most of the photos appear to have been taken on the ground. According to sources, other pilots of the same airline also indulged in such “irresponsible practice”, risking the lives of passengers who flew in the aircraft.
According to the Director General of Civil Aviation’s (DGCA) guidelines, only a select few are allowed inside the cockpit. Arora’s Facebook page has pictures of a fellow pilot posing with rapper Honey Singh and actor Shah Rukh Khan.
A senior official of the Civil Aviation Department said that apart from the one who pilots the plane, a DGCA inspecting official, an engineer of the airline or trainee pilot are authorized to enter the flight deck.
To face action
When Mail Today sought a response from the DGCA, an official said Arora is liable to face action if he is found guilty.
“It is a very serious issue. He clearly compromised security guidelines. This is totally irresponsible behavior by this trained pilot, who permitted unauthorized persons to have a bizarre photo shoot inside the cockpit,” said the official of the rank of Deputy Director, who did not want to be named.
“We will serve a show cause notice to Jet Airways and if it is found that there has been a violation of security rules, DGCA may cancel the pilot’s license,” the official told Mail Today.
After going through Arora’s profile on Facebook, Mail Today found that other pilots of the same airlines have also flouted rules and taken selfies inside the cockpit. In the images, it is clearly visible that pilots and air hostesses of Jet Airways are taking flight operations rather casually.
“In the pictures, crew members earning lakhs of rupees per month as salary are treating the plane like a local bus. They seem unaware that operating a flight is serious business as the lives of so many are in their hands,” a DGCA official said.
Mail Today contacted Jet Airways, but officials denied knowledge of any such incidents.
After the 9/11 terror attacks in the United States, all countries implemented strict rules to restrict entry into the cockpit area.
“It is highly risky to allow anyone inside the cockpit as it is not a place for visitors,” an official said.
Airlines around the world have come to take these rules very seriously after the mysterious disappearance of Malaysian Airlines flight MH 370.
Fariq Abdul Hamid, the first officer of the missing plane, allowed two female passengers into the cockpit during the flight.
Recently, the DGCA suspended the flying license of four pilots who allowed their family members inside the cockpit mid-air.
The pilot of a third flight, who allowed passengers inside the cockpit of a plane on the verge of take-off, was taken off flying duties.
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