BENGALURU: An off-duty pilot on board an Air India flight (AI 502) from New Delhi to Bengaluru has been grounded for three months after he failed a breathalyzer test at the Kempe Gowda International Airport.
According to sources, pilot Jitendra Singh was on leave and was on a personal visit to Bengaluru on Saturday (July 13).
Since flights from New Delhi to Bengaluru were full, he was permitted to travel along with the cockpit crew, a highly placed source said. Rules laid down by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) permit this.
“However, it is mandatory that anyone travelling inside the cockpit takes a breathalyzer test...,” the source said. “The pilot was made to take the test at KIA and the result was positive,” the source added.