Daily Mail

Airline pilots in mid-air brawl

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TWO pilots have been suspended from flying after a brawl broke out at 37,000 feet.

The pair, who work for Iraqi Airways, had been arguing during a flight before their bickering turned physical – so much so that the cockpit was damaged. A security guard had to step in to break up the fight.

In a letter to Iraqi Airways management, the co-pilot said: ‘Conversati­on with the pilot became heated because he forbade an air hostess from bringing me a meal tray, under the pretext that I hadn’t asked him for authorisat­ion.’

The pilot ate his own meal before he ‘hit and insulted me, prompting the arrival of a security agent’, he added. He admitted lashing out because he ‘had to defend himself’.

The aircraft left an Iranian airport last week and was heading to Iraq with 157 passengers on board. The pilots have been suspended and may be banned pending an inquiry, Iraqi Airways said.

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