Wrong-runway pilot 'fails breath test'

A pilot who once landed on the wrong runway is reported to have failed a breath test at an Indian airport, it emerged today.

The pilot, flying for SpiceJet airlines, tested positive for alcohol just minutes before he was due to take off from New Delhi airport.

It is not known whether the airline initiated any action against him or whether a blood sample was collected.

Last year, the same pilot was flying a plane cleared to land on a secondary runway, but landed on the main runway which was under construction. He was asked to leave his job, but was reportedly brought back later.

Two days earlier, another pilot reportedly failed a breath test before take-off at an airport in Chennai in south India. The flight was immediately grounded, the Times of India reported.

In India, reporting for a flight under the influence of alcohol is not a criminal offence.

Rules by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation suggest that any member of the crew who tests positive should be kept off duty and that the company should initiate “disciplinary proceedings”.

Last year it was reported that around 50 pilots in India are grounded annually for drinking alcohol before a flight.