NEW DELHI — India has suspended a pilot for accidentally sending a hijack alert to air traffic control during a domestic flight last month, the aviation authority said. The AirAsia India plane, flying from the capital New Delhi to Srinagar, suffered a stalled engine and the captain told first officer Ravi Raj to send an emergency code to alert authorities about the situation. ADVERTISEMENTInstead of the appropriate code 7700, Raj transmitted 7500 — the code for a hijacking — India’s Director General of Civil Aviation said in a statement on Friday. Such a transmission is considered a major security alert across the world. Raj was found guilty of “negligent conduct” and suspended for three months, the DGCA said, and the captain of the flight was also warned to be more vigilant.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer July 20, 2019 07:52 UTC