Pilots of Indian air carriers may now be subjected to mid-term psychometric tests to ensure that they are mentally fit to fly, following the deliberate crashing of German airliner by the co-pilot last week.
Nine commercial airlines in India employ well over 3,000 pilots who are subjected to such tests at the point of
induction but there are no subsequent appraisals of their mental state. They, however, undergo physical fitness tests
every six months.
The government is mulling “mid-term” psychometric tests in the backdrop of the action of Andreas Lubitz, co-pilot of a
Germanwings flight last week who crashed the Airbus A320 plane into the French Alps killing himself and 149 others.
Reports thereafter have said that 27-year-old Lubitz was suffering from depression but had hidden this from the airline
which is a subsidiary of Lufthansa.
Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma told PTI here today that psychometric tests should be carried
out on pilots in India from time to time.
It’s an important issue. I think this is a must. We should carry out such tests (psychometric) from time to time.
We are going to discuss the issue soon,” Sharma said.
The Ministry would hold consultations with the aviation regulator DGCA soon to prepare fresh rules keeping in mind the
crash of the German airliner, he said.
At present, pilots undergo six-monthly regular medical check-up which includes complete eye examination, Ear, Nose
and Throat (ENT), ECG, audiometry, lipid profile.
Besides this, the pilots have to undergo complete body check-up every two years which includes ultrasound of all vital organs
including kidney and liver and Treadmill test.
National carrier Air India has made it mandatory for all its pilots to undergo a psychometric tests at the time of
induction whereas it was made mandatory for cabin crew after the Mangalore crash in May 2010.
ICPA office-bearer Amit Tyagi said there was a need for re-formatting the working hours also known as Flight Duty Time
Limitation in aviation parlance of the pilots.
“A pilot in the cockpit should be stress free,” he said.
The ICPA may also suggest carrying out a psychometric test at the basic level when a student aspires to take a
Commercial Pilot License (CPL).
You see, its not only about a pilot handling bigger aircraft like Airbus or Boeing. Even a two-seater plane can
also cause a lot of damage if it crashes. So such a test should be mandatory at the basic level,” he said.
IIP recently conducted a psychometric test on candidates aspiring to become co-pilots and cabin crew in Air India.
However, the results showed that majority of them could not pass it.
——————————–PTI