An Air India pilot was reportedly removed from the plane just before its scheduled take-off after he was found to be under the influence of alcohol.
The flight was grounded and test was conducted on the pilot to check for sobriety which indicated blood alcohol content above the permissible limit, the Economic Times reported. The incident unfolded when the ground staff at the Zurich Airport reportedly alerted the authorities after they noticed the pilot smelling of alcohol, leading to his removal from the plane just before departure, news agency PTI reported. There was no official statement on the incident from Air India. This incident comes nearly a month after another Air India pilot, operating a Phuket to Delhi flight, landed in trouble over the use of ‘psycho-active substance’.
Switzerland’s aviation regulator began a probe into the incident which took place on September 6 and India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation ( DGCA ) has also been informed. The row began after the flight faced extreme turbulence and plunged nearly 300-feet and probe hinted at pilot’s role in the major mid-air scare. Based on the post-flight Centralised Fault Display System log seen by HT, at least nine warning messages appeared within a minute at 9.32am IST, when the aircraft had crossed the Odisha coast after flying over the Bay of Bengal. Two emergency-exit door sensor warnings were then recorded at 9.33am and 9.35am, followed by an engine anti-ice fault at 10.16am, and another autopilot disconnect at 10.52am.
