Hours after a shocking video went viral showing a passenger on an IndiGo flight punching a pilot, who was making an announcement regarding a delay in takeoff, an eyewitness has spoken out. Speaking to India Today, a Russian-Indian model who was on IndiGo’s Goa-New Delhi flight said that, “This pilot came on and said ‘you guys are asking too many questions. Because of you, we missed our spot in the queue for take-off. Because of you we have to wait for longer.’ He blamed passengers. Of course it is 100% wrong to hit him, but why blame the passengers? He is supposed to understand that everybody is pissed off (sic) and nervous. He was supposed to support them and make them feel better.”
The incident came to light on Monday, January 15 after the video of a passenger in a yellow hoodie punching a pilot making announcements about further delays went viral. The assault took place on January 14 on the Delhi-Goa 6E-2175 flight that had already been delayed for 15 hours due to heavy fog in New Delhi. The passenger has now been identified as Sahil Kataraia. Earlier on Monday, another video was shared online, showing Sahil attempting to apologise after he was deboarded. In the video, Sahil walks down the ramp and extends his hand to someone outside the frame and says “sorry”. A man’s voice off camera can be heard saying. “No, there’s no sorry. You laid a hand on me.”
The incident sparked widespread outrage, with many calling for Sahil to be arrested and added to the ‘No Fly List’. More than a 100 flights had been delayed on the same day due to the heavy fog that had settled on Delhi.