The co-pilot of an Air India Express 737 sent the jetliner into a terrifying 7,000-foot plunge in May when he accidentally hit the control column while adjusting his seat, investigators report.
According to the report from India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the co-pilot panicked and was unable to execute the proper procedures as the jetliner dropped from 37,000 feet at a 26-degree angle. The plane and its 113 passengers were saved when the pilot, who’d gone on a bathroom break, used an emergency code to get into the locked cockpit, jumped back into his seat and grabbed the controls to bring the plummeting plane out of its dive.
The aircraft would have broken apart if the descent had continued, the aviation agency report said. The aircraft was not damaged and no one was injured, the report said.
via Report: Co-pilot moved seat, sent jetliner plummeting – This Just In – CNN.com Blogs.
Adjust your seat before you leave the gate, boys.
I used to fly a DC-9 MD-88. Even though these are different aircraft, i.e.,a Boeing vs. a McDonnell Douglas, I find what happened REALLY hard to believe. I mean I have NEVER heard of any “seat adjustment recurrent or specific training.” Most all of the levers which control seat positions in cockpits, including the back angle, are on the outside of either the left or right side of the seat cushion. It’s kind of hard to “bump” anything that would do such a thrilling thing, besides I don’t know of any proper procedures for sliding your seat in an aircraft. They’re all much like the seat in your car.
Oh, BTW. . . I have also flown the Boeing B-737-400 simulator several times which is akin to stepping from a Ford – then switching right into a Airbus cockpit or something such as this.
It’s amazing how adaptive the human body and brain can be. Duhhh !!