Eight months ago,when apples stowed in the cockpits overhead cabin by the commander fell with a thud,Captain Kanwaljit Kaur,mistaking it for major engine trouble,applied sudden brakes,bringing the Air India aircraft to a screeching halt,bursting tyres and putting at risk nearly 100 passengers. On November 9,freshly re-instated as a commander,she applied brakes for a second time,aborting a high-speed take-off at Bangalore,again bursting tyres,and risking 90 passengers on board an Air India flight bound for Delhi. This time,she was alarmed by an indication that the nosewheel,which helps navigate the plane during taxiing,may have developed a malfunction. The flight was cancelled,the passengers transferred to another aircraft. The damaged aircraft has been withdrawn from service and was recently ferried to Delhi for major repairs at the airlines workshop. The nosewheel steering fault is of no significance at the time of take-off, said a senior airline executive. This problem can be resolved upon landing and in extreme cases,a tow truck can be used to maneuver the aircraft off the runway once it lands.Aborting a take-off at such a speed is only done in emergencies like engine fire and damage. It can cause fire,the aircraft can skid off the runway. When contacted,an Air India spokesperson confirmed the incident: The investigation is on. Till then,the concerned pilot has been downgraded and she will fly under the supervision of an instructor. In two corrective trainings that Capt Kaur received so far the first,after she mistakenly flew into the Pak airspace in 2009 and,second,after the apple incident in February this year the airlines training committee recommended that she should not be allowed to fly solo. Still,the airlines training department cleared her to fly solo. When contacted,training head (Airbus fleet),Capt R S Dhillion said: The examiners remarked in their training report that Capt Kaur be kept off flying during the monsoon as they had to be extra careful,which was later revoked.
