A senior Air India (AI) pilot was caught drunk two weeks ago at Mumbai just before he was about to operate a flight.
What
has baffled the airline officials was the timing of the flight — the
pilot was to operate an evening flight. Statistics show that normally
pilots test positive for alcohol on early morning flights.
"Though
not excusable, at least one can assume that the pilot must have got
carried away and drank too much the previous evening," said an AI
official requesting anonymity. "But when a pilot is caught under the
influence of alcohol for an evening departure, one can imagine the level
of indiscipline," he added.
AI spokesperson GP Rao confirmed the
incident. "We will act as per the guidelines issued by the Directorate
General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)," Rao said.
The pilot, a captain
in the Airbus fleet is an office-bearer of the Indian Commercial Pilots
Association – a union of erstwhile Indian Airlines pilots. The ICPA did
not comment on the story.
"The DGCA should come down hard on
drunk pilots," said aviation safety expert captain Mohan Ranganathan.
"Second time offense warrants cancellation of license," he said. As per
the DGCA rules, flying license of a pilot is suspended for three months
for first offense. For a repeat offense, the flying license is suspended
for five years.
Story and Comments/Reaction: http://www.hindustantimes.com