Govt asks Air India to ‘take responsibility’, tells DGCA to improve dope checks

NEW DELHI: Govt has warned Air India to improve its oversight on operations and “take responsibility” for ensuring safety. The aviation ministry has also ordered DGCA to quickly revise its drug-testing rules and increase the percentage of personnel who must undergo mandatory testing.The govt has also directed the aviation regulator to enforce tougher penalties against those testing positive for “real” drugs, while giving additional chances to those whose positive results stem from medicines.The pilot-in-command of Air India’s badly rattled Aug 4 Phuket-Delhi flight with 145 people onboard is learnt to have told investigators he had been prescribed sleeping pills due to personal problems which, he claims, led to the positive dope tests. His onboard behaviour is also underthe scanner after the cabin crew complained against him.“The final report of AI’s last June Ahmedabad crash in which 260 people lost their lives is not yet out and then something like this happens with Air India. Govt has taken a very serious view of what happened on AI 2379 and heads will roll. Aviation secretary Samir Sinha has told the AI brass in clear terms that the airline needs to take responsibility and that people found guilty by the probe will not be spared,” said a person familiar with the discussions.The anger stems from the fact that AI 2379 may have narrowly avoided a disaster. While cruising near Odisha, the aircraft reportedly got a series of warnings — many in quick succession — related to the three hydraulics systems, doors and elevator (which makes an aircraft ascend and descend). Autopilot had also tripped off. It had suffered a loss of altitude during cruise, injuring many on board.An Airbus team is in India to examine the reported issues along with officials of the French aviation regulator, with Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau probing whether these warnings were real or spurious and what had caused them. Pilots want Airbus to give a detailed explanation of the same. “Taking pilot-in-command’s alleged state and the multiple warnings, we compliment the co-pilot for ensuring the aircraft landed safely. This incident will lead to multiple changes to strengthen safety,” said a senior govt official.Many pilots feel the warnings “should have been” false as there was no way an aircraft suffering multiple whammies could have flown uneventfully for about two hours to land safely at its destination instead of the crew opting to land at the nearest airport.Dope test changesSenior pilots say there is a problem with the DGCA’s civil aviation requirement on the subject titled “procedure for examination of the aviation personnel for consumption of psychoactive substances” as it treats crew members testing positive due to taking some medicines the same as those who are addicted to “real” drugs or take them recreationally.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.

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