INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The aviation watchdog also fined Air China $7,500 apart from cancelling licences
(File)Shanghai: Chinese authorities have cut flag carrier Air China's 737 flights and revoked the flying licenses of the cockpit crew
involved in a mid-air emergency sparked by a co-pilot's vape smoke, state media said Wednesday.An Air China 737 made a rapid emergency
descent last week after the co-pilot mistakenly turned off air-conditioning systems in a bid to conceal his e-cigarette smoke.The incident,
which resulted in the deployment of passenger oxygen masks, occurred on a flight from Hong Kong to the northeastern city of Dalian.The Civil
Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has cut the carrier's 737 flights by 10 percent and ordered it to undertake a three-month safety
overhaul, China Central Television (CCTV) said.The aviation watchdog also fined Air China 50,000 yuan ($7,500).Boeing 737s accounted for
more than 40 percent of Air China's fleet as of the end of last year, company reports have showed.Air China shares slipped more than two
percent in Shanghai on Wednesday morning following the punishment.The CAAC has said the drama was triggered when the co-pilot, trying to
prevent his vape smoke from spreading into the main cabin, accidentally switched off air conditioning.That led to a decrease in cabin oxygen
levels which in turn set off an emergency warning system indicating the jet may have flown too high and instructing the pilots to quickly
descend.Smoking is not allowed aboard Chinese commercial passenger flights.Chinese media reports quoted passengers and flight-tracker sites
as saying the plane may have quickly descended as much as several thousand metres.There were no injuries to the 153 passengers and nine
crew, the CAAC has said.(This story has not been edited by TheIndianSubcontinent staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
