Jakarta, Jan 12 (Antara) - The pilot and the co-pilot of an aircraft should be in optimal state of physical and mental health because the lives of the passengers and cabin crew are in their hands.
Recently, Indonesia's low-cost carrier Citilink escaped fatal consequences, after its passengers objected to flying with the allegedly drunk pilot on board.
The passengers disembarked from the Surabaya-Jakarta bound airplane after hearing the pilot make a garbled announcement, who was later diagnosed as having an adjustment disorder.
In another incident, two Susi Air pilots were flown from the Central Java town of Cilacap to Jakarta on Wednesday (January 11) to undergo further laboratory tests at the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) after they tested positive for morphine.
Many have urged the government to tighten the control on transportation services in order to ensure the safety of passengers.
Therefore, the Ministry of Transportation has promised to increase the supervision on pilots to ensure they are not taking drugs and endangering the country's aviation safety.
In this case, the Ministry of Transportation will establish close cooperation and coordination with the National Narcotics Agency (BNN).
The cooperation with the BNN will focus on the examinations of pilots and personnel of public transportation to ensure they are not consuming illegal drugs.
Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi announced last week (January 5) that the ministry would prepare additional airport safety measures, following the incident of the Citilink pilot. Sumadi said he had instructed the ministry's director general for air transportation Suprasetyo, as well as the state airport authority, to introduce new procedures to monitor safety concerns.
However, no new regulations will have to be implemented, the minister added.
"Further, we need to monitor, through CCTVs, officials or air crew members behaving suspiciously when they pass (the security checks), as part of our preventive measures," Sumadi was quoted as saying by the Jakarta Post.
According to Agoes Soebagio, the head of the Cooperation Bureau and Pulic Relations of the Air Transportation Directorate General of the Transportation Ministry, in a press statement on Wednesday, a pilot who tests positive for consumption of narcotics, will not be allowed to fly an airplane and will be referred to the authorities for comprehensive examinations.
"A pilot who is initially indicated by the officials to have taken drugs will be banned from flying the plane. The pilot concerned should be examined intensively as soon as possible at the flight healthcare center of the directorate general of air transportation and the BNN," Soebagio remarked.
Pilots who test positive for narcotics, will be liable to sanctions based on regulations in the force. Soebagio made the statement in response to two Susi Air pilots in Cilacap who had reportedly consumed narcotics, Wednesday.
The two foreign pilots, identified by their initials as BH and DE, were flown to Jakarta by a Susi Air special flight under the escort of the chief of the BNN Office in Cilacap district Adjunct Senior Commissioner Edy Santosa.
At 10a.m. on Wednesday, the BNN conducted a urine test for a Susi Air plane, Cessna Caravan's pilots who had just landed at Cilacap Tunngul Wulung Airport from Nusa Wiru Airport, Pangandaran, West Java.
The urine test showed that the pilots BH and DE had consumed narcotics. They were then flown by the BNN officials to Jakarta at 3.08p.m.
Santosa mentioned the office brought the two pilots to Jakarta to undergo a check at the BNN laboratory.
At the request of the Susi Air management, we brought the two pilots to Jakarta to confirm the results after checking their hair and blood samples in the better equipped BNN laboratory," he declared.
This is the second such incident of problematic pilots coming to light in less than two weeks. Citilink Indonesia had to fire the pilot of its QG 800 flight as he was allegedly drunk and caused the delay in the Surabaya-Jakarta flight on December 28, 2016.
Captain Tekad Purna Agniamartanto was fired after passengers claimed he spoke incoherently during a flight announcement before the takeoff. Many passengers decided to disembark from the plane, soon after, as they suspected the pilot to be drunk.
The incident occurred as a Citilink flight, QG 800, was preparing to depart from Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, East Java, to Soekarno Hatta International Airport in Jakarta.
After the incident, Citilink decided to replace the pilot, and the flight, eventually, departed an hour behind schedule with 154 passengers on board.
Following the incident, the President Director of Citilink Indonesia airlines, Albert Burhan, and Production Affairs Director, Hadinoto Sudigno, resigned from their posts. "As for the impact this case has had on Citilink, Production Affairs Director Hadinoto Sudigno and I have assumed responsibility and we hereby submit (our) resignations from the Citilink," Albert said at the press conference two days (December 30) following the incident.
The Indonesian Ministry of Transportation later revoked the flying license of Agniamartanto, as he was deemed unfit, despite the drug test results that came back negative.
Captain Agniamartanto violated the civil aviation safety regulations, as well as the company standard operational procedure, which jeopardized the safety of flight operations, Director of Airworthiness and Aircraft Operation of the Ministry Muzaffar Ismail stated in a press conference in Jakarta, Tuesday (January 10).
National Narcotics Agency's Public Relations Chief Slamet Pribadi mentioned that the former Citilink pilot had undergone examinations, including an assessment of the captain's psychological state and a laboratorial assessment, consisting of comprehensive drug tests.
"Physically, no significant irregularities were detected, while his psychiatric assessment indicated that he suffered from adjustment disorder. His urine, blood and hair showed no traces of narcotics or other psychoactive substances," Pribadi revealed.
Adjustment disorder refers to an emotional downturn with regard to existing problems, which can then aggravate into depression.***1***(A014/INE)EDITED BY INE/H-YH
(T.A014/A/BESSR/A/Yosep) 12-01-2017 17:57:1 |
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar