In yet another incident of drunken misbehaviour on flights, an Indian man was apprehended at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport for allegedly urinating on his co-passenger on an American Airlines flight, officials said on Monday.
According to officials, the passenger had been under the influence of liquor and urinated on his co-passenger during an argument. The incident took place on American Airlines flight AA 292 from New York to Delhi. The alleged "unruly" passenger was apprehended by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) after the plane landed at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport around 9 PM on Sunday.
The airlines reported the matter to the Delhi airport before landing and both the passengers involved were later handed over to the Delhi Police. The victim passenger has filed a formal complaint, the sources told PTI.
Delhi police said, "Legal Action has been taken under non-cognizable offences of the Civil Aviation Act. Action initiated after the complaint given by the Airlines' staff about the unruly behaviour of the passenger. There was no corroborating evidence or complaint given by the co-passengers regarding someone peeing on them."
Civil Aviation watchdog, Directorate General of Civil Aviation issued a statement taking cognisance of the incident. It released a statement, "An allegedly inebriated passenger (arriving from New York by American Airlines) relieved himself on another passenger. American Airlines has recorded the statements of co-passengers and handed over the passenger to law enforcement. An FIR has been lodged."
Incidents of passengers allegedly urinating on co-passengers purportedly after consuming liquor have been reported in the recent past. An inebriated man allegedly urinated on his female co-passenger in her seventies in the business class of an Air India New York-Delhi flight on November 26 last year. The matter came to light in January and the Delhi Police arrested the man a few days later. Air India imposed a 30-day travel ban on him.
The second such incident was reported on board an Air India Paris-New Delhi flight on December 6, 2022 when a passenger allegedly relieved himself on a vacant seat and blanket of a fellow female passenger when she went to the lavatory.
American Airlines flight catches fire
Earlier in the day, a bird strike triggered serious mechanical issues on a plane shortly after it took off Sunday from an Ohio airport. Luckily, the pilot airliner returned safely with no injuries reported.
According to airport authorities, American Airlines flight 1958 departed from John Glenn Columbus International Airport in Columbus around 7:45 am and was headed to Phoenix. The alerted pilot detected some serious issues shortly after takeoff.
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