Airline pilot fails dope test, removed

Shubhadeep Choudhury

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New Delhi, August 26

A pilot of a well-known airline has failed the drug test, making him the fourth pilot to test positive for dope since India began carrying out these checks on pilots and other aviation staffers from earlier this year.

The erring pilot was recently subjected to a drug test at the Delhi airport and his confirmatory test report, received on August 23 was found “positive”. The pilot has been removed from flying duty, top officials of the Directorate General Civil Aviation (DGCA) said.

The DGCA has also suspended the licence of a helicopter pilot for six months for an incident while landing on an offshore platform. “The helicopter descended below the desired flight path during the approach for landing on the helideck. This was also brought to the notice of the pilot-in-command (PIC) by the first officer. The PIC took corrective action, however in the process, the horizontal stabiliser of the helicopter hit the edge of the helideck. The pilot had exceeded the maximum takeoff weight and maximum landing weight of the helicopter during the flight,” the DGCA official said.

The latest incident of an airline pilot failing dope test takes the number of aviation personnel testing positive for psychoactive substances to four pilots and one Air Traffic Controller. India started testing airplane crew and ATCs for psychoactive substance on a random basis from January 31.

As per rules, aviation personnel failing dope test first time have to be sent for rehab and are then allowed to resume work with a negative dope test result and a fitness certificate. However, individual airlines and organisations are free to formulate their own policy, including termination of service of a member of the crew even if the person is a first time offender.