"Every pilot has to undergo a dope test": Civil Aviation Minister Naidu on DGCA's 100% testing plan

New Delhi [India], August 25 (ANI): Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu on Tuesday said the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is considering 100 per cent annual dope testing of pilots as part of efforts to strengthen aviation safety.
Speaking to reporters in Delhi, Naidu said the existing rules provide for dope testing of 10 per cent of pilots across the overall pilot network, while the DGCA is engaging with stakeholders on expanding the testing.
"There are multiple ways of approaching this dope test. Right now, the rule says 10 per cent across the overall pilot network. DGCA is engaging, and one of the opinions from our side is that everyone has to go through it in the year at a random time," he said.
The Minister said the proposed approach would need to balance safety concerns with the operational impact on airlines.
"We have to see how all the stakeholders are going to respond to this because one is the safety aspect of it, and the second thing is the operational impact, which also has to be taken into consideration. So we are going to balance both of them," Naidu said.
He said the DGCA is also assessing the possible impact of introducing mandatory annual testing for every pilot.
"But if we were to implement 100 per cent testing, where every pilot has to undergo a dope test at least once a year, what impact would that have? The DGCA is strategising that," he added.
The statement came after Air India flight AI2379, operating from Phuket to Delhi on August 4, experienced a sudden 300-foot altitude drop over Odisha, leaving 20 passengers and four cabin crew members injured.
The Airbus A320 aircraft, bearing registration VT-EXO, subsequently stabilised and landed safely in Delhi. The aircraft was carrying 137 passengers, including three infants, and eight crew members, comprising two pilots and six cabin crew.
The development also comes amid a purported post-flight maintenance report of the aircraft that has revealed a series of technical warnings involving its hydraulic systems, flight controls and autopilot during the journey. (ANI)