Frightened cabin crew pleaded with her to go back, and the nine-hour flight - complete with 324 passengers and 14 crew - eventually reached its destination without further incident.
The unnamed female co-pilot's license has been suspended, The Times of India said. The confrontation reportedly took place soon after the plane took off.
'The captain slapped the co-pilot and she left the cockpit in tears. She stood in the galley sobbing,' the paper quoted a witness as saying.
'The cabin crew tried to comfort her and send her back to the cockpit.
'Meanwhile, the captain kept buzzing (calling from the telecom in the cockpit) to the crew, asking them to send the second pilot back.'
But the paper said that soon afterwards they again had a fight and the co-pilot for the second time left her seat at the controls.
A Jet Airways statement said that 'a misunderstanding occurred between cockpit crew' which was 'resolved amicably and the flight continued the journey to Mumbai'.
Frightened cabin crew? They suspended the female's license? 'a misunderstanding occurred between cockpit crew' which was 'resolved amicably'?
I think I can understand a sobbing flight crew member in the galley in co-pilot livery would tend to freak people out in the passenger sections.
If she was indeed hysterical and interfering with the flight deck operations by her non-stop actions, I may view the issue differently.