NEW DELHI: Air India on Friday announced the termination of the 34-year-old flight captain of the Phuket-Delhi flight (AI 2379), who tested positive for marijuana in confirmatory testing for psychoactive substances on August 12.
Air India had to take action after the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) expressed serious concern over substance abuse by the pilot and asked the aviation regulator to prioritise the issue of substance abuse by pilots and take immediate action.
The action came hours after the AAIB released its preliminary report into the August 4 incident, in which the aircraft suffered a sudden altitude drop while cruising at 36,000 feet.
Captain Sudeep Vashistha, 34, had tested positive for marijuana on August 12. “The Pilot-in-Command of the Phuket-Delhi flight tested positive for a psychoactive substance. In line with Air India’s zero-tolerance approach to violation of safety, fitness or regulatory requirements, the pilot’s employment has been terminated with immediate effect,” an Air India statement read.
Sources said Captain Vashistha is planning to move court against the termination. According to the AAIB report, all three hydraulic systems of the flight failed within seconds of each other, triggering an autopilot disconnect, a brief ‘stall’ warning, and an altitude drop of 292 feet.
TNIE broke the story on August 10 that the failure of all three hydraulic systems led to the accident. Flight AI 2379, operated by an Airbus A320neo, was carrying 137 passengers, including three infants, six cabin crew members and two pilots.
In its 10-page report, AAIB said its findings are after analysing the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder. It said the flight took off from Phuket on August 4 at 6.11 am IST. As it entered the Kolkata Flight Information Region, the air traffic control instructed the pilots to climb from 34,000 feet to 36,000 feet. The accident occurred while the aircraft was cruising at 36,000 feet.
Citing the post-flight report generated by aircraft maintenance personnel, the AAIB said loss of pressure in the green hydraulic system was detected at 09:32:43 am. Four seconds later, the blue and yellow hydraulic systems also failed.
At 9:32:48 am, the autopilot got disconnected and a continuous chime alert was sounded. At 9:32:51 am, a ‘stall’ warning was triggered for two seconds.
The co-pilot, who was flying the plane, tried to take control of the situation but could not. The captain then took over.
At 9:32:52 am, the blue hydraulic system recovered, followed by the yellow and green systems. This resulted in recovery of the flight control systems and normal operating conditions were restored.
According to AAIB, the aircraft suffered some damages. The overhead ceiling panel was cracked at 5th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 18th, 19th and 20th row. The forward right hand emergency exit handle was broken. The passenger unit panels were found dislocated and bent.
The aircraft gained about 372 feet before subsequently losing around 292 feet from its assigned altitude. The hydraulic systems recovered within seconds and flight controls returned to normal operation.
The sudden movement injured 20 passengers and four cabin crew members. Twenty people were treated and discharged for minor injuries, while four others were hospitalised with serious injuries.
The aircraft continued to Delhi rather than diverting to the nearest airport and landed safely at Indira Gandhi International Airport at around 11 am. The crew had requested medical priority from air traffic control before landing.
In the first dope test conducted on August 4 after the flight landed, the pilot had tested 'non-negative'.
Stating that it accorded highest priority to safety, Air India said,
"The Pilot-in-Command of the Phuket-Delhi flight tested positive for a psychoactive substance. In line with Air India's zero-tolerance approach to violation of safety, fitness or regulatory requirements, the pilot's employment has been terminated with immediate effect."
The AAIB's preliminary report said both pilots underwent breathalyser tests after landing, with satisfactory results. They were subsequently tested for psychoactive substances.
While the co-pilot's sample tested negative, the pilot-in-command's initial sample was non-negative. A blood sample was sent to a laboratory for confirmation, which returned a non-negative result.
The AAIB described the finding as "a serious concern" and recommended that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) take appropriate action to prevent the abuse of psychoactive substances.
The report did not identify the substance detected or state whether it had any operational effect on the flight.
Asked about the action to be taken against two other cockpit crew members who tested positive in the mandatory dope test the Air India group has been carrying out voluntarily for its 5,000-plus cockpit crew since August 13, a source said, "The duo tested negative in the confirmatory second test. Hence, there was no need for any action against them."
Air India has completed testing of hundreds of pilots and continues to carry out the testing. "No one else has tested non negative so far," the source added.
The pilot, 34, held a valid Airline Transport Pilot Licence and had around 5,055 hours of flying experience, all on the A320. The 32-year-old co-pilot had about 1,394 hours of total and A320 flying experience.
Both pilots had rested for nearly 22 hours before the flight.
(With PTI inputs)
