London: An 'Air-India' pilot has been grounded after he forgot about a dead man on board. The baggage handlers later found the body in the hold on Saturday. The man - in his 80s - died from a heart attack on a flight from Delhi to Birmingham. The man hailed from Bradford.
The Air-India Boeing 777 made an emergency landing at Bucharest, where he was pronounced dead. The pilot ordered his body to be stashed in the hold for the rest of the trip rather than leaving it among the passengers. But, after landing, the Russian pilot (56) forgot about the body and headed for a nearby hotel.
Baggage handlers were shocked to find a casket containing the dead man. The discovery of the body caused considerable confusion and delay, which was later attributed to lack of communication by the plane's pilot.
The police was alert and the pilot was immediately taken into custody. A-I authorities later grounded the pilot temporarily on suspicion of causing public nuisance by his forgetfulness. Police have, however, released the pilot without charge.
"The pilot was arrested and questioned, but later released and no further action will be taken," a spokesman for the West Midlands police said.
An Air- India spokesman said there was some surprise among the baggage handlers as there was not enough time to inform everybody about the body.
"We had spoken to their supervisors who were aware of what had happened. The pilot did get off the aircraft. There were some language difficulties and he was not aware that he was needed. There were some difficulties contacting him and the police later spoke to him also. He will be speaking to our staff in Mumbai, but will not be reprimanded," he said.
(With agency inputs)
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