Recently, an Air India Phuket-Delhi flight was in the news for all the wrong reasons. It was a tragic flight incident where the aircraft experienced a sudden variation in altitude of about 300 feet. The videos from the incident taken by the passengers went viral on the internet. While the aircraft, after checks, was given a clean chit, the pilot-in-command of that flight tested positive for marijuana in a drug test. This has suddenly drawn attention to dope testing of pilots, one of the most important aspects of aviation safety. So we thought of helping you know how the pilots in India are tested. Check it out!
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in India has made testing for psychoactive substances mandatory among their flight crew. The airlines are asked to randomly test their pilots every year for the same.
These tests are conducted only to make sure that the pilot is not under the influence of substances that might put their or other’s life to risk. In India, pilots are tested before every flight for alcohol consumption.
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Pre-Flight Test: All the flight crew operating flights from India or domestic departures from India must go through a mandatory test. This is the Breath Analyser (BA) examination before duty.
Post-Flight Test: The airline calls up the pilot in the office after they have operated a flight, and you are not allowed to refuse.
Post-Incident: The airline may also call the pilot for a test after any incident or diversion. They can also be called over reasonable suspicion.
Also Read: 10 Airlines That Don’t Serve Alcohol On Flights You Should Know About
The pilot is called up randomly for a test. Then the dope test process begins with testing the urine samples. The sample is collected under strict Chain of Custody (CoC) procedures to prevent tampering.
The testing is conducted in the presence of the pilot. After urine is collected, the officials from an external company open a sealed testing kit and then add the testing reagent to the sample. The results are concluded using a color-coded system. This system can detect the presence of any prohibited substance.
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If the screening results in a “non-negative” result (which means that it is not a confirmed positive), the sample is sent to an accredited laboratory. This is for a confirmatory analysis which uses techniques like Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS) or Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). If the test shows positive, the pilot is immediately off-rostered and grounded.
Also Read: Why Airlines Limit Alcohol In Economy Class
Let's take a look at the penalties that are imposed if found guilty:
India enforces a zero-tolerance policy with a mandatory 0.000% BAC (Blood Alcohol Concentration) limit. Hence, the test protocols are followed very strictly and seriously here. Ensuring that the pilots are medically fit is one of the most important safeguards in modern aviation.
