Naidu discusses tightening of pilot drug testing rules with officials, airlines

Civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu chaired a meeting of top officials and airline representatives to discuss the proposed tightening of drug testing rules for pilots. People aware of the matter said redrafting of the Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) after consultations was among the issues discussed at the meeting on Tuesday evening.

The meeting was held hours after Naidu said the government was considering random drug tests for all pilots. On August 17, HT was the first to report that the government was considering asking domestic airlines to conduct psychoactive substance tests for their pilots.

Civil aviation secretary Samir Kumar Sinha, Vir Vikram Yadav, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) chief, and airline representatives attended the Tuesday meeting.

Naidu earlier in the day said the regulator, DGCA, is consulting on what the regulations say and how to ensure a strict policy around drug tests for pilots. He added that there are multiple ways to approach the testing. “...the rule says 10% across the overall pilot network...DGCA is engaging, and one of the opinions from our side is that everyone has to go through it [testing] in the year at a random time,” he said.

He added that the government would assess the operational impact of such a move. “We have to see how all the stakeholders are going to respond to this because one is the safety aspect, and the second is the operational impact. We are going to balance both.”

People aware of the matter said the consultations so far have been focused on implementation of the proposed changes, infrastructure needed for the tests, and operational impact.

The proposed move to have every pilot undergo a random test once a year follows an Air India pilot testing positive for drugs after the airline began testing all pilots voluntarily from August 13.

Naidu said other airlines were also performing tests. He referred to the “serious incident” involving the Phuket-Delhi flight and said the Aircraft Accident Investigation Board was investigating.

AI 2379 Phuket-Delhi flight dropped 300 feet in a sudden loss of altitude during cruise, injuring 20 passengers and four crew members. It was first attributed to turbulence and later to some technical issues. It is unclear what led the aircraft to drop down momentarily.

The Air India pilot-in-command on an August 4 Phuket-Delhi flight was learnt to have tested positive in a confirmatory drug test.

Naidu said everything is intact. “...the data recorder and everything is intact. The plane has also been in their possession. So I believe that we can expect a preliminary report soon.”