Drunk pilot delays AI flight to New York by 45 min

Mumbai: In the wee hours of Monday, a commander on Air India's Mumbai-New York flight failed the breathalyzer test, delaying the departure of the 'zero-delay' flight by 45 minutes. Air India flight AI-141 was to depart at 0045 hours, but it eventually took off at 1.30am due to 'operations delay'.
"One of the four pilots of the flight failed the breathalyzer test conducted by the airline doctors as part of the pre-flight checks. He was derostered and replaced by Capt Ramalingam," said a source. AI spokesperson did not comment on the incident. It was not known whether the airline sent the pilot for a blood test for confirmation of alcohol.
According to sources, between July 2008 and 2009, 29 pilots failed the breath analyser tests, most of these instances taking place during festivals and New Year.
Air India's ultra long haul Mumbai-New York flight is what the airline calls, a "zero-delay flight". It means the airline's operations department sees to it that Boeing 777-200 LR that does the 15-17 hour non-stop flight from East to West, crossing about 11 time zones always takes off on time.
20/10/09 Manju V/Times of India

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Categories: Air India - International Oct 2009, Foreign Oct 2009, NACIL Oct 2009, Safety Oct 2009