NEW DELHI, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- A senior pilot of India's flagship carrier Air India was grounded on Sunday after he failed the mandatory alcohol tests just before he was scheduled to fly, local media reported.
Identified as Captain Arvind Kathpalia, the pilot has even flown Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the past, added the media reports.
He was scheduled to take off the Delhi-London flight AI-111 on Sunday afternoon. He, however, failed the mandatory breathalyzer test, and was found to have an unacceptably high blood alcohol count shortly before he was scheduled to fly.
He will now face a probe by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
According to media reports, a few minutes after the breathalyzer tests were completed it came to light that the pilot had high counts of alcohol in his blood and was not fit to fly. He was grounded and an alternate pilot was arranged in his place, due to which the flight got delayed by around an hour.
As per the strict DGCA directives, Captain Kathpalia now faces a three-year ban from operating commercial jetliners in accordance. Aircraft rules prohibit crew members from having any alcoholic drink 12 hours prior to the commencement of a flight, and mandate them to undergo alcohol tests before and after each trip.
This is the second instance when Captain Kathpalia failed a breathalyzer test. In January 2017, he was grounded for three months after tests revealed alcohol in his blood.
