A co-passenger on the Air India New York-Delhi flight where an inebriated passenger urinated on a woman, told NDTV today there was "fault at multiple levels" in the handling of the incident. Most of it, he said, was poor judgement by the pilot. Dr Sugata Bhattacharjee told NDTV that he had initially alerted the cabin crew about the passenger, who seemed unable to handle his drink. "I flagged to the staff that he had way too many drinks - the staff just smiled," he told NDTV in an exclusive interview.
Dr Bhattacharjee, a US-based doctor of audiology who was seated next to the offender, Shankar Misra, in the business class, said he had filed a complaint about the matter the same day, November 26.
"My two-page complaint -- it was just tossed off... No one would have known about this if media didn't take it up... My complaint was not about drunk passenger. It was on poor judgement by the pilot over the incident. I advocated for her, I asked the crew to let her sit on another seat, crew said we have to ask the pilot, I said then ask the pilot," he said.
The passenger, he said, had too many drinks in a short time. "We were served lunch about an hour after take-off and he had downed four drinks in 40 minutes," he told NDTV in an exclusive interview. He was served at least one more drink after that. Though not drunk, he was "incoherent".
During lunch, "he asked me questions like you have kid and what do they do, repeatedly. I figured he can't hold up due to alcohol. I flagged it to the staff," Dr Bhattacharjee said.
Dr Bhattacharjee said he did not witness the man urinating on the elderly woman passenger. But the way the incident was handled left much to be desired.
The woman who was completely drenched in urine, was given pajamas and was left standing at the galley for around 20 minutes. After that, the cabin crew made her sit on the same seat, piling some blankets on it.
"I asked them 'kisi aur seat pe bitha dijiye' (let her have another seat), the staff said she can't as it's the pilot's decision," Dr Bhattacharjee said. That decision came two hours later, and the woman was made to sit a narrow crew seat after she refused to use the soiled seat.
The crew also left the two passengers to settle the matter, which should not have happened, Dr Bhattacharjee said.
The crew and captain "can't mediate" in such issues, he said, "It is a crime and their job is to complain about crime". Also, the victim and the perpetrator should have been separated, as is the cardinal rule in such cases, he added. "They should have bumped him to economy and gave a fresh seat to her. They instead put multiple blankets on her seat," he said.
Asked about the perpetrator's reaction when he woke – whether he was scared or apologetic -- Dr Bhattarchrjee said when he woke up, the man had sobered up. "He said 'Bro I'm in trouble,'. I said "Yes, you are'."
Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran today admitted that Air India's response should have been swifter. "We fell short of addressing this situation the way it should have been," Mr Chandrasekaran said in a statement.
Shankar Mishra has been arrested by the Delhi Police on Friday, six weeks after the incident, and placed in judicial custody for a fortnight.
Air India CEO Campbell Wilson has apologised and said four cabin crew and a pilot have been de-rostered and the airline is reviewing its "policy on service of alcohol in flight".
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