Air India flight forced to return to Delhi 36 mins after takeoff as co-pilot missed breath analyser test

Hours after senior pilot Arvind Kathpalia was grounded for failing the pre-flight breath analyser test on Sunday, another flight was forced to return to Delhi as the co-pilot allegedly missed his breathalyser test. As mentioned on agency reports, Air India 332 from Delhi to Bangkok took off from the Indira Gandhi International Airport and landed back 36 minutes later after making several sharp manoeuvres as shown in its flight path.

Passengers on the flight took to Twitter to complain about the flight and about being stranded at the airport for more than four hours. There is no official statement so far.

Before that, senior pilot Arvind Kathpalia, who is also the Director of Operations for India said that he was told by the carrier he failed two breathalyzer tests on Sunday before a flight to London from New Delhi. Kathpalia has also had responsibility for flight safety and training earlier. It is the second time Arvind Kathpalia, who is also on the loss-making airline's board, has been in trouble over alcohol tests. He was suspended for three months in 2017 for allegedly refusing to take breathalyzer tests.

According to a description for the operation director's job when Kathpalia got appointed in June 2017, he was responsible for flight operations, ground operations, and flight safety and training operations. It is unclear if those remain the job specifications.

Kathpalia, who denies he had been drinking, corroborated the results of the breathalyzer and said he was tested twice in a span of 20 minutes, adding that the second test's reading was higher than the first.

In 2017, Kathpalia was suspended for three months when he had allegedly refused to take breathalyzer tests before and after his flight between Bengaluru and New Delhi and back in January 2017, according to a court document available on law portal Indiakanoon.

In August last year, the Indian Commercial Pilots Association, a trade union representing pilots of the state-owned carrier, filed a court case against Kathpalia requesting stern action against him over the missed breathalyzer tests and some other behaviour.

(With Reuters inputs)