Taking note of incidents of drunken flying,aviation safety regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has decided to crack the whip on errant pilots,and is likely to subject them to a mandatory alcohol test prior to every flight,said senior officials. For a start,the regulator has made it mandatory that pilots be tested for alcohol presence before undertaking any flying,whether commercial or chartered,which has a designed VIP on board. According to that latest order issued by the DGCA,in case of any accident involving an aircraft,the pilot and co-pilot will be immediately subjected to a medical check- up for the consumption of alcohol. The existing guidelines,which woefully lacked any effective disciplinary action against drunken pilots,will now be harmonised and made stringent. We have decided to adopt zero tolerance policy towards instances of drunk flying. Having received suggestions from various quarters,we are planning to make it mandatory for pilots to undergo alcohol test prior to each flight, Nasim Zaidi,director-general,DGCA told The Indian Express. As of now,a pilot has to declare that he is fit for flying before operating an aircraft,or in certain cases airlines or the DGCA officials undertake random tests on pilots. For the first time in the countrys aviation history,the safety regulator has ordered that first time offenders during pre-flight medical check be de-rostered from flying duties for a period of at least four weeks and disciplinary action be taken by the concerned company. Instructor,examiner,check pilot and check cabin crew,if found guilty for a second time in a row,will be considered alcohol dependent and will lose such ratings permanently. Any relapses after undergoing detoxification treatment may entail permanent grounding. In case crew a member fails the test during post-flight medical check,he/she shall be de-rostered,until DGCAs approval. In the last three years,a total of 196 alcohol positive cases were reported. Liquor baron Vijay Mallaya-promoted Kingfisher had topped the list of erring airlines with eight pilots failing the breath test,followed by IndiGo and SpiceJet with six pilots each. JetLite,Paramount and Jet Airways also had pilots in happy spirits with three pilots each in the guilty list,according to the government statistics. These rules will apply to all aircraft operators airlines,air taxi operators,state government and private aircraft operations. Airlines will have to make available at all times,at least two serviceable breath analyzer with digital recording of data. The crew will be allowed a maximum of two tests on a breath analyzer. If first test is positive and crew refuses to undergo second test,the crew member will not be allowed to operate the flight. The Directorate General of Civil Aviations policy states that level of alcohol in blood compatible with safe flying is zero. The current guidelines bar crew from entering the aircraft if they have consumed any alcoholic drink,sedative, narcotic or stimulant drug preparation within 12 hours of the commencement of the flight or have detectable blood alcohol whatsoever in his breath,urine or blood alcohol analysis.
