Air India pilot fails alcohol test twice, DGCA wants ‘strict’ action including termination

Aviation regulator DGCA on Monday asked Air India to take strict action, which may include termination from service, against a pilot who failed pre-flight alcohol test twice, the latest being on Saturday when he was off duty but was scheduled to travel in the cockpit of a plane as an additional crew member. Previously, Captain Ajit Singh failed a pre-flight alcohol test on October 21, 2015, when he was scheduled to operate AI-660 from the Goa airport. The DGCA had then suspended his licence for three months, as per the rule.

On Saturday, Singh was not on duty but was scheduled to travel in the cockpit of flight AI-502 from Delhi to Bengaluru as an Additional Crew Member (ACM). However, the DGCA stated in the order Monday that he “was tested positive in pre-flight breath-analyzer (BA) test”.