BENGALURU: A pilot who travelled in the cockpit on board an Air India flight from New Delhi to Bengaluru, and was not part of the operating crew, has been suspended for three months as he failed a Breathalyser test after reaching the Kempe Gowda International Airport.
According to sources, pilot Jitendra Singh was on leave and was visiting Bengaluru on July 13.
It is not clear if the Karnataka capital is his hometown or if his family stayed here, a source said.
"Since Air India flights in the route were overbooked, the pilot was permitted to travel in the cockpit as an Assistant Pilot Manager. This is permitted under the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) rules," another source said.
Anyone inside the cockpit needed to take a BA test either when entering or leaving the flight, he said.
"When the test was carried out at KIA, he tested positive for it," the source added.
The DGCA has placed him under a three-month suspension now.