Web Desk: Indian airline pilots have been found to be drunk while flying.
According to media reports, an Indian pilot was removed from the plane at Canada’s Vancouver International Airport after his breathalyser test came back positive. After several hours of delay, the flight was taken to Delhi under the supervision of a replacement pilot.
The incident occurred on December 23. On December 29, another Indian pilot took the flight despite knowing that the plane had a fault. He put the safety of hundreds of passengers at risk. The Canadian regulator has demanded concrete measures from the Indian government to prevent such incidents and has sought a response by January 26.
Earlier, an Indian Air Force Tejas fighter jet crashed during a demonstration flight at the Dubai Air Show, killing the pilot and sending shockwaves through the crowd on the event’s final day. The indigenously developed aircraft, built by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, went down after failing to recover from a low-altitude manoeuvre. As a result, the jet burst into flames on impact roughly a mile from the show site, while thick smoke rose and emergency vehicles rushed in as hundreds of spectators looked on.
Afterwards, the Indian Air Force confirmed the pilot’s death and said it would convene a court of inquiry to determine the cause of the accident. Meanwhile, Indian authorities said they were in contact with UAE officials, and engine-maker General Electric said it was ready to support the investigation, though experts cautioned it was too early to draw conclusions.
The crash came at a sensitive time for India, which had ordered dozens of upgraded Tejas fighters to modernise its air force and was showcasing the aircraft to potential foreign buyers at one of the world’s largest aerospace exhibitions.
