Brawling pilot grounds plane, forces evacuation

A punch-up between a pilot and a steward  grounded a Saudi Arabian Airlines flight at Cairo last Wednesday and forced the plane's evacuation.

More than 150 passengers were sent off the Medina-bound flight, and stranded at the airport where they had to wait more than six hours for their plane to re-board.

“The fight took place as the plane was about to take off,” Col. Mutaz Youssef, duty head of the airport police told Arab News.

The spat began as a verbal disagreement, but soon escalated into physical violence. The pilot sustained eye injuries that were treated at a nearby hospital, while the steward's hand injuries were treated on the spot by security personnel.

The airline scrambled another crew  from their headquarters in Jeddah to manage the replacement flight.