The incident took place on June 17 when the flight was to take off from Bengaluru to Kolkata

Aviation regulator DGCA today suspended an Air India pilot for six months for being involved in a "heated argument" and "physical altercation" with a cabin crew member in the aircraft before it was about to take off, sources said.

The incident took place on June 17 when the flight was to take off from the Bengaluru airport to the Kolkata airport.

"Air India Pilot in Command Captain Milind has been suspended by the DGCA for a period of six months from the date of the incident," a source told news agency PTI.

Captain Milind and cabin crew member Rajat Verman were involved in a "heated argument and thereafter physical altercation when the aircraft was on ground", they said.

The DGCA had issued a show cause notice to the pilot on June 28, asking him to explain in writing why action should not be taken against him, the sources said.

"The reply of the show cause notices was reviewed by the regulator and it was not found satisfactory. As a result, he has been suspended for six months," the source said.