Jetlite cancels flight after pilot found inebriated

New Delhi: A pilot of Jetlite airline was caught inebriated on Saturday morning minutes before he was to fly an aircraft to Patna.
The flight had to be cancelled and the pilot was suspended for a month.
The incident occurred on Saturday at 6 am.
A team of Jetlite doctors had conducted a breath analyser test on the pilot and found that he had a high quantity of alcohol in his blood. Jetlite officials remained tight-lipped about the extent of the content.
“We have suspended the pilot for a month,” said a senior official of the company. Despite several attempts, the Jetlite spokesperson could not be contacted for comment.
The pilot had reported on work early morning after a late night party, in which he had consumed liquor.
The flight to Patna was immediately cancelled, as the airline could not find a replacement for the junior captain.
There were 70 passengers on board. In the afternoon, some of them were accommodated on board an Indian Airlines flight to Patna. The others were put in the Jet Airways evening flight.
An Air Deccan pilot was found inebriated on 12 April, 2006, by a DGCA team during a random test.
On October 12, 2007, a Kingfisher Airways pilot had been grounded for three months after being caught at IGI Airport. On October 28, 2007, an airhostess of a Mumbai-bound Jet Airways flight, tested alcohol positive during pre-flight testing. She was grounded for three months.
22/06/08 Delhi Newsline

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Categories: JetLite Jun 2008, Safety Jun 2008