'Pilot fails in a dope test at Delhi airport, removes from duty', says DGCA

|HT|

A pilot of a prominent airline failed a dop test at Delhi airport and has been removed from flight duty, aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said on Friday. This is the fourth such incident where an airline pilot was found positive after the rule for testing the flight crew and air traffic controllers for psychoactive substances came into force in January this year.

A DGCA statement did not identify the airline concerned.

“A pilot of a prominent airline was subjected to a drug test at Delhi in accordance with CAR Section 5 Series F Part V. He has been found positive in the confirmatory test report received on 23.08.2022 and has been removed from the flight duty,” DGCA said in a statement on Friday.

The drugs to be tested for include amphetamine and amphetamine-type stimulants; opiates and metabolites; cannabis (marijuana) as THC; cocaine; barbiturates and benzodiazepine.

In recent weeks, three airline pilots tested positive for psychotropic substances. An air traffic controller, too, recently failed a dope test in Delhi.

The rule, which came into effect on January 31, 2022, mandates the collection of urine samples from pilots and air traffic controllers selected on a random basis.

The urine samples are collected at the collection site, at the designated secure facility established by the airline and the test is carried out post-flight or anytime during the duty period.

Pilots who test positive for the first time are referred to a specialist doctor/ counsellor/ de-addiction centre and allowed to return to active duties after having undergone tests for the consumption of psychoactive substances again.

Those who fail the test a second time will have their flying license suspended for three years. Those who fail for the third time will lose their licence for good.

In another development, DGCA has suspended the license of a Mumbai-based helicopter pilot for a period of six months.

DGCA said the pilot was involved in an incident in May this year while landing at Bombay High.

“The helicopter descended below the desired flight path during approach for landing on the helideck. This was also brought to the notice of the pilot by the first officer (co-pilot). The pilot took corrective action, however in the process, the horizontal stabilizer of the helicopter hit the edge of the helideck,” a DGCA official said.

“The pilot exceeded the maximum take-off weight and maximum landing weight of the helicopter during the operation of incident flight thud violating norms,” he added.

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