Now Reading: Air India Pilot Tests Positive for Cannabis After Phuket-Delhi Flight
-
01
Air India Pilot Tests Positive for Cannabis After Phuket-Delhi Flight
Air India Pilot Tests Positive for Cannabis After Phuket-Delhi Flight
The commander of an Air India flight from Phuket to New Delhi tested positive for cannabis in a post-flight test, Deccan Chronicle reports. Doctors say cannabis impairs concentration, reaction time and decision-making,…
The Story in Brief
The commander of an Air India flight from Phuket to New Delhi tested positive for cannabis in a post-flight test, Deccan Chronicle reports. Doctors say cannabis impairs concentration, reaction time and decision-making, but investigators have not established that the pilot was impaired or that it caused the aircraft's sudden loss of altitude. The pilot had taken medication prescribed for severe sleep difficulties.
TimesNowNews quotes doctors warning that cannabis can slow reaction time and affect judgement, and that feeling normal after use does not mean unimpaired. Air India has extended drug tests to all pilots instead of a random 10 per cent. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau is conducting a technical probe into the incident.
The Indian Opinion
The temptation is to assume the pilot was flying under influence based on a positive test, but causation is not proven. Equally wrong is to dismiss the risks of cannabis on safety-critical tasks. Deccan Chronicle rightly notes that passengers surrender control expecting professional competence. The real test will be whether the AAIB's technical findings confirm impairment, and whether airlines build a culture where pilots can disclose medical problems without fear of losing their jobs.
Sources (2): timesnownews.com, deccanchronicle.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
