Air India: Pilots in severe panic after deadly crash killed 279 people

• An Air India pilot has reportedly experienced a severe panic attack when he was about to take off at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL)
• The development disrupted the flight, and it happened after the aircraft's recent crash, where 279 people on board died
• The Air India pilot was in Flight AI 157 to Copenhagen (CPH) aboard a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner

A pilot of an Air India has experienced a moment of severe panic attack as he was about to take off at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL), just a day after a plane crash that involved the same aircraft, where 279 lives were lost.

The pilot of Flight AI 157 to Copenhagen (CPH) aboard a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was said to be preparing to operate the airline when the tower signalled that a crew member was not well. The development prompted the aircraft to return to the terminal.

Air India plane takes off after pilot's panic

According to The Sun, the flight later departed when the pilot was replaced. It then landed in Denmark after two and a half hours behind his normal schedule.

The incident happened following the tension that heightened with the Air India's cockpit crew. This happened after the tragic crash of Flight AI 171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner. The airline crash occurred barely after taking off at Ahmedabad (AMD) en route to London Heathrow (LHR). The incident claimed the lives of 279 members on board.

Sources within Air India suggested that the panic could have been a result of post-traumatic stress after the crash. One internal report disclosed that many pilots have reported having psychological distress.

Why Air India pilots are panicking after crash

Some of them were said to have reportedly replayed the crash incident in their minds. One of them was said to have questioned the chances of him returning to flying duties.

It was also learnt that Air India, in an advisory, encouraged all crew members of its flight to seek mental health support, including the "buddy system", the airline's peer-based. India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) regulations mandated the directive, and it required that pilots must pass the annual medical tests.

The development would be the seventh flight disruption that Air India has experienced as a result of the disaster from AI 171. For instance, on Tuesday, June 17, Air India cancelled Flight AI 143 from Delhi (DEL) to Paris (CDG) following the detection of technical faults during the compulsory pre-flight checks. It also called off its return leg from Paris.

Air India: Man dies after wife's burial

Legit.ng earlier reported that a UK-based father of two, Arjun Patoliya, tragically died in the Air India flight crash that killed 241 passengers.

The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, en route to London, crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, India, on June 12, 2025.

Arjun was returning to the UK after fulfilling his wife Bharatiben’s last wish by conducting burial rites and scattering her ashes in a village river in Gujarat.

Source: Legit.ng