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The pilot of an Air India flight was locked out of the cockpit by a jammed door, forcing a trainee pilot to make an emergency landing in central India, officials and news reports said today.
The incident occurred on a flight from New Delhi to the southern city of Bangalore on Monday when the pilot took a toilet break and returned to find the cockpit door jammed shut.
When all efforts to open the door failed, the trainee was forced to make an emergency landing at the nearest airport in Bhopal, the reports said.
“An inquiry has been ordered into the incident,” airline spokeswoman Zita D’Mello said.
“All precautions and procedures regarding safety were observed during the entire process. The incident posed no danger to the passengers or the crew,” the airline said in a separate statement.
Monday’s incident was the latest in the series of security scares involving the state-run airline. Air India is investigating an incident from last month when a plane’s auto-pilot was accidentally switched off while the pilots were out of the cabin.
According to reports, two pilots had taken a 40-minute break from the cockpit and were napping in business class, leaving two stewardesses to watch the cockpit.
One of the stewardesses accidentally turned off the auto-pilot, forcing the pilots to rush back to the seats, news reports said.
Air India denied the reports but admitted the cabin crew over-stayed in the cockpit and that the auto-pilot was briefly disconnected.
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