Captain locked out of cockpit in Air India flight to Bangalore!

Mumbai, May 14 (IANS): An Air India New Delhi-Bangalore flight had to make an unscheduled landing at Bhopal after the flight commander was locked out of the cockpit, an airline spokesperson said here Tuesday.

The bizarre incident occurred Monday when the flight commander of AI-403 went to the toilet briefly and returned to find the cockpit door locked.

Despite all efforts from outside and inside by the co-pilot and a trainee pilot, the jammed door failed to open, leaving the flight commander outside.

The co-pilot took permission from ground control and diverted the flight to Bhopal where the aircraft landed safety at 5.55 p.m.

A ground team of maintenance engineers rectified the problem and the flight left Bhopal on its onward journey to Bangalore, reaching there at 10.30 p.m.

"All precautions and procedures regarding safety were observed during the entire process. The incident posed no danger to the aircraft passengers and the crew," an Air India spokesperson said.