DGCA removes airline pilot from flight duty after drug test, suspends chopper pilot's license

The helicopter pilot whose licence was involved in an incident while landing on an offshore platform has had his licence suspended for a period of six months by the  Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). During the helicopter's approach to land on the helideck, it had dropped below the intended flight path. According to a DGCA representative, the first officer also informed the pilot in charge (PIC) of this. The PIC initiated corrective action, but while doing so, the helicopter's horizontal stabiliser ran into the helideck edge. It was discovered that during the incident flight, the pilot had exceeded the helicopter's maximum takeoff weight and maximum landing weight. 

In another case, a pilot of a prominent airline was subjected to a drug test at Delhi in accordance with CAR Section 5 Series F Part V. He has been found positive in the confirmatory test report received on August 23 and was subsequently removed from the flight duty. Recently, the aviation regulator penalised an air traffic controller at the Delhi airport after he tested positive for a psychoactive substance.

As per the rules, airline crew members, including pilots and air navigation service providers, have to carry out random drug-testing of at least 10 per cent of the flight crew members and air traffic controllers employed by them every year.

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Prior to this, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) suspended the licence of the pilot-in-command (PIC) of a SpiceJet flight for six months after he disregarded the co-pilot's advice while flying a Boeing B737 aircraft. The change is related to what happened on May 1 when a plane travelling from Mumbai to Durgapur encountered highly choppy weather when it touched down. The turbulence generated because of the weather injured about 14 passengers as well as three crew members.

With inputs from IANS