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Last month, Naidu had said that the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) suggested to DGCA that all pilots should undergo a dope test once a year, against the current regulation that requires 10% of the pilots to undergo random testing annually. According to sources, while the DGCA was already in the process of revising the regulations pertaining to testing of aviation personnel for psychoactive substances, the Air India incident led to calls for more stringent drug testing protocol and stricter disciplinary action in proven instances of drug abuse. Even as consultations for revising the rules were on, the regulator decided to put all airline pilots through a one-time drug test over the course of nearly 12 months.

An Air India Airbus A320 aircraft — VT-EXO — operating from Phuket to Delhi on August 4 encountered a sudden 300-feet altitude drop, causing injuries to 20 passengers and four cabin crew members, and 17 of the 24 had to be hospitalised. The aircraft had 137 passengers, six cabin crew members, and two pilots on board. In its preliminary investigation report, Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) flagged a sudden and brief triple hydraulic failure and the 34-year-old pilot-in-command’s non-negative drug test report.

The AAIB also issued a recommendation to regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to take actions deemed fit to prevent abuse of psychoactive substances, although it did not say whether or not the purported use of drugs by the pilot-in-command was directly linked to the incident.