Drunken pilot at Frankfurt reveals ...:

Gap in pre-flight crew testing

by Anurangi Singh

Strict crew testing before flights for substance abuse is not done by Sri Lanka-based airlines, nor is it required by the local civil aviation regulator, the Sunday Observer has learned when following up the SriLankan Airlines' drunken pilot incident reported last week. Airline industry sources acknowledged that in neighbouring India, the national civil aviation regulator enforces pre-flight testing on all flights within and from India. The local regulator here insisted such constant testing was not essential.

The furore over the 15-hour delay of the 270-passenger SriLankan Airlines flight UL554 from Frankfurt, Germany, due to pilot drunkenness has raised questions over the need for stricter flight safety and security procedures for Sri Lanka-based operators.

Should pilots and other crew be regularly tested for substance-use before every flight?

In the Frankfurt incident, the flight's safety was not compromised, airline officials are quick to point out, since the other airline flight crew responded in time by identifying the pilot's condition correctly and quickly activating necessary procedures to deal with the situation. The pilot was grounded and substitute officers found to enable the flight to proceed, although after much delay. But, industry sources acknowledged the potential risks, had the pilot taken control of the aircraft in his inebriated condition.

The August 19, 2016 flight UL 554 was scheduled to depart Frankfurt at 1.20 p.m. carrying over 250 passengers and crew. The first officers who noticed that the captain was acting different and not in a position to carry out his duties, immediately reported to the chief pilot who was in charge. Ultimately, steps were taken to remove the pilot from his duties immediately. SriLankan Airlines, commenting on its own conduct gave themselves a big 'pat on the back' at the press briefing held on Thursday 25 August.

Your national carrier did a remarkable job; it was an unfortunate incident, but, did extremely well given the situation.

"We are proud the way that we handled it. We did what was right. Safety was never compromised. We did the right thing by our passengers, by the nation," said Saminda Perera, General Manager, Marketing for SriLankan Airlines.

Pilots are evaluated every six months. They are tested rigorously and evaluated by way of written exams, stimulated performances and interviews to gauge their mental status. "There is no other profession where professionals are required to face examinations annually or every six months. They are hardly required to visit the books or curriculum after graduation. But, we are examined and scrutinized at every possible point," said Cpt Ranga Amadoru, management pilot, who has been with SriLankan for 16 years.

Safety regulations pertaining to the tech crew and the cabin crew, and other safety measures are introduced and regulated by the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka. One such regulation recommendation is SLCAIS-035: "Prohibition of use of alcohol or psychoactive substances by personnel holding Licence, Rating or Certificates issued by Director General of Civil Aviation to engage in safety and/or sensitivity activities relating to civil aviation." This aims at preventing the use of alcohol or psychoactive substances by licensed or certified personnel engaged in activities sensitive to flight safety and/or security, including training either in an aircraft or any synthetic devise, for the promotion of safety and/or security in air transportation.

This regulation states; "if he or she has consumed alcoholic beverages within eight hours prior to reporting for duty or while on duty and if alcohol concentration of 0.04% or greater in a blood or breath specimen is found. The alcohol concentration means the grams of alcohol per decilitre of blood or grams of alcohol per 210 litres of breath."

SriLankan Airlines has adopted two systems of measures to ensure safety, namely, 'Safety Management System' (SMS) and 'Corporate Resource Management' (CRM). Captain Amadoru went on to say that the company has an open culture where anyone who has a concern can take it up with even their immediate superior. For example, what the First Officer did at this instance and quite rightly informed the relevant officials within SriLankan Airlines.

Despite having numerous regulations and safety measures in place, we were faced with the incident which took place at Frankfurt. Then, one needs to ask the question whether we have enough safety measures in place, he said.

When contacted, the Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority (DGCA) H.M.C Nimalsiri, said, owing to the administrative nature of his role it was impractical for him to engage in detailed security measures, but to provide regulations and regularly monitor it. "As DGCA I'm only responsible for the administrations and issuance of licence to pilots. In that respect I look at the age, knowledge, experience, skill and medical aspect and constantly monitor that."

When questioned as to whether the breathalyzer test should be made mandatory he said, it was not practical to put the whole population of pilots to test for the mistakes of one or two pilots.

"No, we can't make the breathalyzer mandatory. In fact if you look at the population it's only about 3 percent of Pilots who engages in such activities and behaviour. All others exercise their duties with a level of responsibility and dignity. Just because one or two deviate from the rule, and based on that if we start putting everyone under the breathalyzer test we would be over-doing our regulatory functions. Safety is the responsibility of all. The DGCA alone cannot maintain safety, everyone must contribute to safety. We basically ensure system safety to them and continuously monitor the safety management system, and report and develop a reporting culture. It was through such culture that this incident was reported. Usually, a co-pilot would not dare to report on the captain as they fall subordinate to the captain. Here, we must admire that the first officers had the courage to report when they saw that something not right was happening." The DGCA said.

Public accountability

He went on to say that all pilots should have a sense of responsibility as they hold a very conscientious job. "They are responsible citizens and have to behave with a sense of responsibility. There's hardly anything we can do at such instances. We have given licence to people who are over the age limit of 22. They should have a sense of responsibility and public accountability and exercise their freedom or licence. If they act differently and are caught we will deal with them, but it's difficult to take any action on suspicion."

In a survey carried out in India it was reported that within a span of five years, between 2009 and Feb 2014, a total of 165 pilots across the country were found to have high blood alcohol levels at the time they reported for duty. Following this, the Indian Aviation Authorities decided to make the breath-analyzer mandatory for every pilot.

Civil Aviation Requirement Section 5 - Air Safety Series F Part III Issue III, which came to effect on 4 August 2015 states; "The operator/crew member/maintenance personnel shall ensure that there is no contravention of Rule 24 of the Aircraft Rules 1937 by conduct of breath-analyzer examination before operation of flights in India as well as outside India."

The regulations further provide for a situation where it is not available to carry out the tests prior to flight, they should undergo the test soon after landing; "For operators other than the scheduled operators, each flight crew and cabin crew of all flights originating from India shall be subjected to pre-flight breathanalyzer examination. However, where infrastructure does not exist, the flight crew and cabin crew shall undergo post-flight breath-analyzer examination. In case the flight crew and cabin crew are away from base station for more than two days and operates a flight from there, the operator shall provide facility for conduct of their pre-flight breath-analyzer examination, which may include Govt./Govt. licensed private hospitals located at the airport or in the city. Such facilities shall be subjected to periodic checks by the DGCA."

Such regulations, although can be thought as an extra work or inconvenience on some of the personnel who don't deserve such scrutiny, should be weighed against the consequences that may occur in the event if such procedures are not in place.