Plane escorted by jets was training flight for pilot: Report
The London-Mumbai Jet Airways flight that was escorted by German fighter jets after it lost contact over European airspace was a training flight for the pilot-in-command, according to reports. The flight lost contact with Air Traffic Control due to a "frequency goof-up" and its pilot missed contact attempts on emergency frequency "due to howling noise," the reports added.
New Delhi, Feb 21 (PTI) The Jet Airways aircraft flying from London, which lost contact with the ATC over European airspace while on its way to Mumbai, was a training flight for the pilot-in-command at the time of the incident, sources said. The incident happened on February 16 when the Mumbai- London flight 9W-118, carrying 330 passengers and 15 crew members, lost contact with the Air Traffic Control (ATC) reportedly for almost 33 minutes. "It was a training flight for the pilot on the commanders seat when it lost contact with the ATC due to frequency goof- up. Though, the Czech aviation authorities tried contacting the pilot of the flight 9W-118 on emergency frequency, the pilot missed it due to howling noise," airline sources said. A response from Jet Airways on the issue was awaited. According to information, the flight remained out of touch of ATC for nearly 33 minutes when it was flying over Czech airspace. While flying from Bratislava to Prague, 9W-118 was on correct frequency (132.890MHz) as it transmitted and acknowledged the messages. 