The confirmatory drug test of the pilot-in-command (PIC) of an Air India Phuket-Delhi flight that plunged around 300 feet during cruise and injured 24 passengers and crew members on 4 August has returned positive for a banned substance, according to two people aware of the development.
Air India and the civil aviation ministry are yet to officially confirm the result.
The confirmatory test was conducted after the pilot’s preliminary drug screening returned a “not-negative” result, according to an earlier statement by the ministry. The preliminary test was conducted after the flight landed in Delhi on 4 August.
The development comes as Air India’s outgoing chief executive Campbell Wilson met officials at the civil aviation ministry and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Tuesday evening amid the investigation into the incident and the circumstances surrounding the pilot’s drug test.
Potential termination
A positive confirmatory test could have serious consequences for the pilot. Air India’s internal rules on drug and alcohol use are understood to be stringent, with termination possible following a confirmed positive test.
“As far as I know, Air India's internal regulations are far more stringent[than the DCGA's rules]. The company has a strict policy of mandatory termination if a pilot is found alcohol or drug positive even once,” said captain PP Singh, former accountable manager and senior vice-president for operations at Jet Airways. The DGCA has detailed requirements for testing flight crew members and air traffic controllers for drugs, Singh added. Airlines are responsible for testing their pilots, with urine samples screened for specified substances.
A preliminary screening result classified as “not-negative” does not by itself establish which substance is present. The sample is required to undergo confirmatory testing to determine the specific substance detected, he said. “If the confirmatory test comes positive, DGCA is immediately and directly informed by the testing establishment,” he added.
Singh said the regulatory consequences depend on whether it is a first, second or subsequent confirmed occurrence. “If it is the first such occurrence, the pilot is sent for rehabilitation or de-addiction, and can be brought back to flying if certified fit later. If such a pilot is detected positive a second time, DGCA will suspend the licence for three years,” he said. “In case of a third occurrence, the licence is cancelled permanently.”
The incident
The Airbus A320, registration VT-EXO, operating flight AI2379 from Phuket to Delhi on 4 August, experienced a sudden altitude variation of around 300 feet during cruise before stabilising and landing safely in Delhi, according to the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), the country’s aircraft accident investigation agency.
The aircraft was carrying 137 passengers, including three infants, and eight crew members comprising two pilots and six cabin crew. The incident resulted in injuries to 20 passengers and four cabin crew members, according to the AAIB. It has been classified as a “serious incident” by the ministry, thus expanding the scope of the probe to the pilot’s conduct and possible technical defects in the aircraft.
“Based on information received from the DGCA and the nature of the occurrence, the AAIB has taken up the investigation in accordance with applicable provisions and International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) protocols,” the AAIB said in a statement.
The AAIB is examining technical, operational, medical and human-factor evidence, including flight-data recordings, aircraft systems, operational and maintenance records, medical information and interviews with people concerned.
France’s Bureau of Enquiries and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA)—acting as the investigation authority for the State of Design, the country responsible for the aircraft’s original engineering and airworthiness certification—along with technical representatives of manufacturer Airbus, is assisting the AAIB with technical information and design documentation.
Change at the top
The development comes amid a leadership transition at Air India. Last week the airline named former Ethiopian Airlines chief executive Tewolde Gebremariam as its new CEO and managing director, succeeding Wilson. Gebremariam, who headed Ethiopian Airlines for more than a decade, is set to take charge of Air India as the Tata group-owned carrier grapples with operational, financial and safety challenges.
Singh said the incident could have a significant impact on Air India’s reputation. “The memory of the AI171 crash is still kept alive in the public memory because of multiple conspiracy theories which keep surfacing regularly. The real danger for Air India is the travelling public drawing a linkage between the two events which, though unrelated, have taken place within a short span of time,” Singh said.
“A full-fledged report will come from the AAIB so that we can see what definitive action needs to be taken,” civil aviation minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu said at the ministry on Tuesday. “In the meantime, if it is anything related to substance abuse or substance use, I would say we are taking it very seriously from the ministry. If a tweaking in regulations is required, we will do it.”
Air India, the DGCA and the civil aviation ministry are yet to respond to queries from Mint. We were also unable to contact the pilot, whose identity has not been disclosed in accordance with the ongoing investigation.