MRU Aviation chair suggests random drug tests for pilots
Posted Apr 5, 2017 06:34:46 AM.
Last Updated Apr 5, 2017 02:39:57 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The chair of Mount Royal University’s Aviation program is pushing for random drug and alcohol testing of pilots.
Leon Cygman believes the practice could boost public confidence, following a disturbing incident at Calgary’s airport on New Year’s Eve.
Slovakian pilot Miroslav Gronych was sentenced to eight months in jail earlier this week after he showed up for a Sunwing flight drunk and appeared to pass out in the cockpit before takeoff at YYC.
Cygman said while cases like these are extremely rare, random drug tests would be a good idea.
“The issue is making sure they understand the seriousness of the job that they do, and assuring the public there is a watchdog in place,” he said.
He said pilots in the U.S. are sometimes tested.
“To my knowledge, all the pilots I have known that have been randomly tested showed up negative, of course,” he said.
Current rules in Canada says pilots cannot consume any alcohol within eight hours of a flight.
It would be up to Transport Canada to implement random testing.