NEW DELHI: Trouble mounted for the pilot-in-command (PIC) of last Tuesday’s badly rattled Phuket-Delhi Air India flight after it emerged that he had failed the confirmatory dope test and was found to have consumed marijuana. Besides, the cabin crew of the flight, AI 2379, has filed a complaint with the airline against the “high” PIC’s onboard behaviour.The pilot also faces criminal action beyond DGCA rules — which require such a pilot to be sent for de-addiction and allow him to resume flying after being certified drug-free.The young co-pilot had to single-handedly steady the aircraft and then land it safely at the destination.An alarmed civil aviation ministry summoned AI’s outgoing CEO Campbell Wilson to express concern about this incident and find out how the airline was dealing with the issue and review its plan to come out of its prolonged period of operational turbulence.Airbus A320 had momentarily gone into ‘negative G’ situationThe incident that has raised questions over the robustness of the Indian system has also pushed DGCA to explore ways to make dope test rules more stringent after the incident that left 20 passengers and four cabin crew members injured.“Certain records, statements, medical information and other material collected during the investigation are protected and confidential in accordance with the applicable investigation framework…. AAIB (Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau) requests all concerned to respect the investigation process and refrain from drawing conclusions… AAIB will conduct a thorough investigation covering all material facts and relevant evidence and will issue its preliminary findings,” the aviation ministry said in a statement while responding to queries on the confirmatory test.What happened on boardMultiple sources told TOI that the PIC was acting under the influence of psychoactive substances. “He was often sitting on the floor of the flight deck and tried to smoke out. Cabin crew had to help him back to his seat. He was not in full control of himself. He was unable to walk properly after exiting the aircraft,” said a person in the know. AI did not comment on the cabin crew’s alleged complaints.The probe will determine whether the aircraft had a sudden loss of altitude due to a series of multiple and rare technical snags, which have been reported by the co-pilot in his report, or it was caused by actions of the PIC.When the aircraft experienced loss of altitude, the PIC is learnt to have been standing and leaning behind the co-pilot’s seat. The Airbus A320 had momentarily gone into a “negative G” situation when the PIC and things in the cockpit floated up and those who were not wearing seat belts got injured in the passenger cabin.The cabin crew have given a report to AI. The co-pilot may have informed the airline’s ground control about the pilot’s behaviour due to which the unusual step of subjecting the cockpit crew to a drug test — instead of just breath analyser tests — was taken.“AAIB is engaged in systematic collection, preservation and examination of all relevant technical, operational, medical and human-factor evidence,” the govt said.What govt is doingWhile DGCA is reviewing its rule titled “procedure for examination of aviation personnel for consumption of psychoactive substances”, India’s senior-most pilots sought a differentiation between a pilot testing positive after having a medication for sleeping or anxiety and those who are found to have consumed “true” psychoactive substances.
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Airlines have a list of medicines that need to be avoided some hours before flight as they can cause drowsiness.What it means for AIMassive financial losses apart, the airline’s operations and training are again under a cloud, just when it was trying to regain public faith following the Ahmedabad crash in June 2025.While Tatas and partner Singapore Airlines have pumped in thousands of crores and there have been significant cosmetic improvements, it is still looking for leadership and professional management that can usher in the culture required to fly it out of turbulence.
