Two more Air India pilots fail preliminary drug tests, de-rostered pending confirmatory results

New Delhi: Two additional Air India pilots have tested “non negative” in preliminary drug screenings carried out under the airline’s expanded screening programme, and have been taken off flying duty while confirmatory test results are awaited, according to media reports.

The Tata Group-owned carrier initiated mandatory one-time drug testing for all its pilots after the captain of a Phuket–Delhi flight tested positive for marijuana in post-landing urine tests following an in-flight incident on August 4.

Under a new standard operating procedure (SOP) issued on August 13, Air India began screening all group pilots for substances or medications prohibited under aviation regulations, citing the need to reinforce safety standards and public confidence.

Sources said nearly 300–400 pilots have undergone the process so far. Final confirmatory test results typically take 24–48 hours. As per norms, pilots whose initial screening returns “non negative” are immediately off-rostered pending the confirmatory report, since preliminary tests can yield false positives due to medicines, food or technical errors.

The intensified testing follows an incident involving an Airbus A320neo on the Phuket–Delhi route, during which the aircraft suddenly lost about 300 feet of altitude. Initial accounts attributed the event to turbulence, but subsequent analysis of aircraft system data pointed to a brief, simultaneous loss of pressure across all three hydraulic systems, affecting elevators, ailerons and spoilers for several seconds.

A cabin crew member on the flight is believed to have lodged a complaint alleging that the pilot had previously smoked marijuana. While the captain’s reported positive test has drawn significant attention, investigators have so far not established a causal link between the drug-test result and the technical malfunction.

(Inputs from IANS)