Key Points
A cup of coffee precariously placed near the controls of a passenger jet landed two pilots in hot water last week..
The fear, as many on social media pointed out, was the coffee cup could have spilled its contents all over the flight's control panel, causing a short-circuit or another similar mid-flight emergency.. While the SpiceJet pilots cool their heels at home (presumably), we thought of an intriguing aviation practice about pilots eating mid-flight that might interest you...
It's "not a hard-set rule", a former commercial pilot says, but is an informal industry practice (probably a breather for the two SpiceJet pilots who likely ate the same food item - gujiya - on their plane)...
The answer is straightforward and kinda obvious: The practice of the pilot and the first officer eating different meals while flying is to avoid the scary scenario of both pilots taking ill together in the event of a particular meal being contaminated...
That said, food contamination - especially of meals to be consumed by pilots - is highly unlikely with airlines, understandably, taking extra care when it comes to this aspect of aviation..
