AN Air India pilot had a panic attack seconds before take-off just a day after the crash which killed 279 people.

The pilot was at the controls of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner – the same as tragic flight AI 171 – when he was overcome by nerves.

He was in the line-up queuing to take off from Delhi airport for the 9 hours 20 minutes flight to Copenhagen.

But as the planes edged forward he decided he could not continue.

A message was received by the tower to say that a member of crew was ill and the plane was returning to the terminal.

A new pilot was then found and the flight eventually took off, landing in Denmark at 10.31pm local time on Friday, two hours and 31 minutes late.

A source told The Sun: “It is likely that the panic attack was connected with post-traumatic stress disorder due to the crash.

“Pilots of wide bodied planes are very shaken after the incident last week. One said he kept replaying it in his head.

“Another said that he didn’t know if he would be able to get back into the cockpit again.”

Air India has contacted all of its pilots urging them to seek help if they have worries after flight AI 171 crashed shortly after take-off last Thursday in Ahmedabad with the loss of 279 lives

It also suggested they make use of the company’s buddy system where they can confide any concerns to colleagues.

The panic attack pilot is now likely to face rigorous medical testing before he is allowed to fly again.

Under India’s aviation rules, aviators have to pass a medical every 12 months to retain their Commercial Pilot’s Licence.

This incident brings the number of Air India flights disrupted since the crash to seven.

Flight AI 143 from Delhi to Paris due to take off on Tuesday at 1.15pm was cancelled after “mandatory pre-flight checks identified an issue”, the airline said.

As a result, the return service from Paris to Delhi on Wednesday has also been cancelled.

The Air India flight from Ahmedabad to London – the same route as the crashed plane – was also cancelled on Tuesday.

The airline denied initial reports it was due to technical issues and said it was “due to the unavailability of the aircraft, resulting from airspace restrictions and additional precautionary checks”.

A San Francisco-Mumbai flight was delayed during a scheduled stop at Kolkata on Tuesday morning due to an engine issue.

A total of six international Air India flights – all using the 787-8 Dreamliner – were cancelled on Tuesday.

Another Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner had to return to Hong Kong mid-flight after a suspected technical issue on Monday.

And the day after the crash a Phuket-Delhi flight was forced to make an emergency landing back at Phuket after a bomb threat.

Air India declined to comment about the panic attack.