The lives of hundreds of passengers traveling at a height of thousands of feet in the air are completely in the hands of two pilots sitting in the cockpit. In such a situation, if a pilot is found drunk just before take-off, it is no less than a big nightmare. One such shocking and serious case has come to light from the country's leading airline Air India, owned by the Tata Group. A co-pilot (First Officer) of an airline failed the mandatory medical examination i.e. Breathalyzer (BA) test just before leaving for flight duty. The machine confirmed the presence of alcohol in the co-pilot's system. As soon as this report came out, there was panic in the airline management. Seeing the seriousness of the matter, Air India immediately took strict action and stopped the co-pilot even before he could reach the cockpit of the plane. How was the drunken co-pilot exposed just minutes before the flight? As per aviation rules, before takeoff of any commercial flight, all crew members, including the captain, co-pilot and air hostess (cabin crew), have to undergo a mandatory medical test. This test is done in the medical room of the airport. When this Air India co-pilot arrived to report for his scheduled flight, his breath analyzer test was done as part of the routine procedure. As soon as the co-pilot exhaled into the machine, an alert about the presence of alcohol came up in the readings. As per the rules, a second confirmation test is conducted after an interval of a few minutes to remove any kind of doubt. When the report came back positive for the second time, it became clear that the co-pilot had consumed alcohol or any alcohol-containing substance before duty. Immediately the duty manager was informed and a standby (reserve) pilot was called for that flight in a hurry, so that there was no major delay in the flight of the passengers and safety could be ensured. Air India and DGCA took strict action after the test failure. As soon as this serious negligence was exposed, Air India took strict action without wasting any time. The airline has off-rostered the co-pilot with immediate effect and has grounded him. This means that the co-pilot will not be able to fly any aircraft until the entire departmental and official investigation into the matter is completed. Along with this, the airline has immediately given official information about this incident to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). DGCA is the supreme regulator of the aviation sector in India and has very strict rules in matters related to flight safety. Under DGCA's 'Civil Aviation Requirements' (CAR), if a pilot is found positive (under the influence of alcohol) in the pre-flight breath analyzer test for the first time, his flying license is immediately suspended for 3 months. If the same mistake happens for the second time, the license is suspended for 3 years. At the same time, if a pilot is found drunk for the third time, his Commercial Pilot License (CPL) is canceled forever and he can never fly a plane in his life. Air India's 'zero tolerance policy' on playing with the lives of passengers: After being taken over by Tata Group, Air India has become very sensitive about its brand image, safety standards and passenger facilities. The airline management has made it clear that they have a 'zero tolerance policy' regarding the safety and discipline of crew members. This simply means that there will be no compromise with the safety of passengers at any level. Flying an aircraft is a highly technical and mental task. Alcohol consumption severely affects a person's decision-making ability, reaction time and hand-eye coordination. If the weather turns bad during the flight or there is a technical fault in the aircraft, the pilot has to take the right decisions in a hundredth of a second. In such a situation, a drunk pilot can put the entire flight and hundreds of lives in danger. This is why the airline has taken this matter seriously and has started a strict departmental inquiry, which includes the provision of even termination from the job. What is pre-flight breath analyzer (BA) test and why is it such a strict rule? People often search on Google and Bing that how are pilots tested? Let us tell you that Breath analyzer (BA) is an electronic device which measures the amount of alcohol in the breath (Blood Alcohol Concentration). As per DGCA rules, it is completely prohibited for any crew member to consume alcohol up to 12 hours before duty in India. This rule is so strict that pilots and cabin crew are strictly prohibited from taking cough syrup, mouthwash or homeopathic medicines which have an alcohol base before flying. If a crew member refuses to take the test, abandons the test midway, or avoids taking the test after reporting for duty, he or she is also considered to have failed (positive) the test and is given the same punishment. Post-flight random checking is also done to ensure that no one has consumed alcohol in the air or while on duty. Questions arise regarding aviation safety and a matter of relief. While on one hand this incident shows the gross negligence of a person holding a responsible position, on the other hand it also proves that the safety mechanism of the Indian aviation sector is working strongly. Due to this medical filter at the airport just before the flight, a major potential accident was averted. In the modern aviation industry, many layers of checks and balances have been created to detect human errors. This incident has once again given the message that no matter how stringent the rules are, they are ultimately made for the safe return of the general public home.
