The IndiGo pilot who was attacked by a disgruntled passenger due to a delay in take off said his specs broke and fell on the ground after he was punched in the face.
As per the FIR registered on his complaint, the co-pilot, Anup Kumar, said he was punched on the left side of his face by the accused, Sahil Kataria, PTI reported.
“The passenger boarding was completed at 2 pm and the flight was ready for departure. But a few passengers were not ready to settle down. Crew members requested us to come out of the cockpit and address the passenger,” the FIR said.
It was then that Kataria, wearing a yellow hoodie, rushed towards the pilot and punched him. In a video that has gone viral, a flight attendant, who tried to defuse the situation, is seen breaking down in tears.
“Due to this, my specs broke down and fell on the ground. This incident happened in front of the passengers on board. It happened after the door closure,” the co-pilot said.
Police said the passenger was agitated as the Delhi-Goa IndiGo flight was delayed for over 10 hours due to dense fog. The IndiGo flight eventually took off from Delhi at 6 pm.
The incident took place on Sunday afternoon onboard aircraft 6E 2175. Kataria was arrested on Monday but is now out on bail.
On Wednesday, police interrogated Kataria and recorded statements of his wife and other passengers to ascertain the sequence of events that happened onboard the flight.
“Kataria was totally apologetic. But he said that the other passengers were also very agitated due to the 10-hour delay,” a police officer told PTI.
On Monday, over 100 flights were delayed and five diverted at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport, leading to a chaotic situation for passengers.