Another embarrassment: Air India pilot caught drunk in Sharjah before flight


Khaleej Times, 18-05-2015 04:44:51


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 The security men at the airport suspected the behaviour of the pilot, and questioned him to find out he was under the influence of alcohol.

Sharjah - An Air India pilot, who was held in Sharjah in an inebriated state before flying a Kochi flight on Saturday, was let off with a warning by the UAE authorities, an airline official said on Sunday.
 
According to reports in the Indian media, the captain was arrested after security officials found him reeking of alcohol.
 
Disclosing the name of the captain, reports said that Rajiv Nanda was made to undergo a breathalyzer test and was found under the influence of alcohol, following which he was not allowed to fly the aircraft. Due to the incident, 120 passengers of Flight AI 934 faced a delay of three hours after the airline was asked to provide another pilot.
 
A top official at the Sharjah Civil Aviation told Khaleej Times that as part of its duty to protect the lives of passengers, the department took the preventive measure of not allowing the captain to pilot the flight.
 
“The security men at the airport suspected the behaviour of the pilot, and questioned him…He was not really drunk...but he was under the influence of alcohol,” the official said.
 
“His blood sample proved that the percentage of alcohol content was high. So, we instructed the airline to replace the pilot immediately for ensuring the safety of the passengers,” the official said, appreciating the cooperation of the airline and Indian authorities.
 
However, a senior executive of the airline, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Khaleej Times the captain was tested as part of a routine checkup on the airline crew.
 
“Not only him, the first officer, the in-flight supervisor, all of them underwent the checkup as a routine. But, apparently there was a slightly higher than the permissible content of alcohol in the case of the captain,” the official said.
 
However, he said the situation was not so serious for the authorities to arrest the pilot. “He was detained during the test and after the results came positive, he was told he will not be allowed to fly and they also informed us to provide a substitute. After that he was let off with a warning. It did not become a police case, there was no FIR registered,” he added.
 
“We re-rostered another pilot who was to fly the night flight to Thiruvananthapuram. We also served meals to all the passengers inside the aircraft because it was their lunchtime. We didn’t want to cause any inconvenience to them by disembarking them.”
 
The official admitted that arranging another pilot from India also delayed the take off of the second flight.  He said the UAE authorities did not mention about banning the pilot from flying into the country again. “But I’m sure there strict action will be taken against him in India.”
 
As per the rules by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation in India, pilots will be kept off flying duty and would have their licence suspended for three months if caught drunk for the first time at work.
 
“In case the violation is repeated...the licence/approval of the crew member shall be suspended for a period of three years. In case of a third violation... the licence/approval of the crew member will be cancelled,” reads the DGCA’s current civil aviation requirement for “action on positive breathalyzer tests”.
 
“Alcohol present in bodies even in small quantities jeopardises flight safety on several counts and is likely to adversely affect an aviator well into the hangover period,” it adds. -

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