Centre asks Air India to take responsibility

Centre has asked Air India to strengthen its operational oversight and “take responsibility” for ensuring safety following the August 4 Phuket-Delhi flight scare, while directing the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to urgently tighten its rules on drug testing of aviation personnel, according to a report by Times of India's Saurabh Sinha.The aviation ministry has asked the regulator to revise the existing testing framework, increase the proportion of personnel subjected to mandatory dope tests and impose tougher penalties on those who test positive for recreational or prohibited drugs. At the same time, officials have been asked to provide additional opportunities to personnel whose positive results are attributable to prescribed medicines.Also read: Air India Phuket-Delhi flight logged multiple hydraulic failures; autopilot disconnects before 300ft dropCentre's action follows the Air India flight AI 2379 incident, in which the aircraft, carrying 145 people, suffered a series of warnings while cruising over Odisha, including alerts linked to all three hydraulic systems, doors and the elevator. The autopilot also disconnected and the aircraft lost altitude during cruise, leaving several people onboard injured.The pilot-in-command is learnt to have told investigators that he had been prescribed sleeping pills because of personal problems and claimed that the medication resulted in his positive dope tests. His conduct onboard is also being examined after cabin crew reportedly complained about his behaviour.Centre takes serious view of Air India safety lapsesThe incident has triggered concern within the government because the aircraft may have narrowly avoided a more serious accident. The final report into Air India's June crash in Ahmedabad, which killed 260 people, is still awaited.“The final report of AI’s last June Ahmedabad crash in which 260 people lost their lives is not yet out and then something like this happens with Air India. Govt has taken a very serious view of what happened on AI 2379 and heads will roll. Aviation secretary Samir Sinha has told the AI brass in clear terms that the airline needs to take responsibility and that people found guilty by the probe will not be spared,” a person familiar with the discussions told ToI.A senior government official said the pilot-in-command’s alleged condition, along with the multiple warnings reported during the flight, would be examined closely.“Taking pilot-in-command’s alleged state and the multiple warnings, we compliment the co-pilot for ensuring the aircraft landed safely. This incident will lead to multiple changes to strengthen safety,” the official said.An Airbus team is currently in India to examine the reported technical issues along with officials from the French aviation regulator. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau is probing whether the warnings were genuine or spurious and what caused them.Several pilots have questioned how an aircraft could continue flying for nearly two hours after experiencing multiple warnings if all of them were genuine. They believe the warnings “should have been” false, pointing out that a crew facing multiple serious technical problems could otherwise have been expected to divert to the nearest airport rather than continue to its destination.Also read: Air India pilot in Phuket-Delhi flight incident was on sleep medicationDGCA rules on medicine-related positive tests under scrutinyMoreover, Centre has also ordered changes to the DGCA's existing framework governing testing for psychoactive substances among aviation personnel.Senior pilots have raised concerns about the current civil aviation requirement titled “procedure for examination of the aviation personnel for consumption of psychoactive substances”. They argue that the rules effectively treat crew members who test positive because of legitimate medicines in the same manner as those who consume or are addicted to “real” drugs recreationally.The proposed changes are aimed at creating a clearer distinction between the two categories, with stricter consequences for genuine drug-related violations while allowing additional opportunities for personnel whose positive results are linked to prescribed medication.The government has also directed DGCA to increase mandatory testing coverage and move quickly on the revised rules as the wider investigation into AI 2379 continues.(With inputs from ToI's Saurabh Sinha)