The preliminary dope test of a pilot of the Air India Phuket-New Delhi flight has put the spotlight on the safeguards governing psychoactive-substance testing of pilots and cabin crew. The aircraft encountered severe mid-air turbulence on August 4, resulting in 17 people being injured.
Captain C S Randhawa, president of the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP), and a former Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) official, tells TNIE speculation about the pilot should be avoided till the confirmatory test establishes the facts.
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With the dope tests on the pilots of the Phuket-Delhi flight in the spotlight and the final result awaited, what tests are conducted on cockpit and cabin crew?
Before the departure of all domestic flights, a breathalyser test is conducted on the aircraft crew. Random tests are carried out on arrival. For international flights, breathalyser tests are mostly conducted upon arrival. But after any incident or accident, both breathalyser and psychoactive-substance tests are done. The latter relies considerably on urine samples.
What is your understanding of the present instance in which a pilot allegedly tested positive in the preliminary test conducted at Delhi airport after the Phuket episode?
The confirmatory test is conducted for six parameters specified in the Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) and takes into account substances such as cocaine, barbiturates, cannabis and opiates, among others. Until evidence emerges, the pilot is not guilty. The final test will establish the seriousness of the case. Speculation needs to be avoided until the final result is available.
Who is authorised to conduct these tests?
The airlines carry out these tests in accordance with the regulatory provisions. In India, the responsibility lies with the aviation regulator, the DGCA.
Offences involving psychoactive substances pose a direct risk to human lives, yet the punishments in India can appear limited. For instance, rehabilitation for some months is the penalty for a first-time offence involving pilots. Should the penalties be made more stringent?
Our regulations are almost in line with those of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the US and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). In some other countries, however, the penalties are severe. In the Gulf, a positive test leads to the immediate termination of the employee in airlines like Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad. The licence is also cancelled. Carriers like Singapore Airlines immediately terminate any crew member who tests positive for psychoactive substances. Penalties of up to $100,000 and imprisonment of up to five years are also imposed.
What about the US and Europe?
In the US, immediate grounding is carried out. A pilot is immediately removed from sensitive duties if a positive urine test is detected, while the pilot’s first-class medical certificate stands suspended. First-time violators are offered a rehabilitation pathway through the Human Intervention Motivation Study programme, a specialised substance-abuse treatment framework for the pilots.
To fly again, the pilot must successfully complete treatment under a substance-abuse professional, obtain a special-issuance medical certificate and undergo continuing unannounced follow-up testing for up to five years. Most major commercial carriers terminate employment immediately following a positive test.
Under EASA, airlines must take immediate measures to ensure that an impaired pilot does not continue to fly. National authorities such as the Civil Aviation Authority in the UK or the Luftfahrt-Bundesamt in Germany suspend the pilot’s medical and flight licences pending an aeromedical investigation.
There have been several instances of pilots and cabin crew taking self-medication on the advice of peers or through online sources without realising that the medicines contain banned substances...
In India, the number of aircrew who test positive is very low. Psychoactive-substance tests are carried out at the time of recruitment by airlines, after an incident or accident and randomly.
