Airline News
Air India pioneers psychological assessments
May 25th 2015
Indian flag carrier Air India has rejected 25% of its most recent intake of new pilots following unsatisfactory mental stability assessments conducted by “psychology experts from the Indian Air Force”. Read More » The reports have been mandated by the airline in the wake of the March 24 crash of a Germanwings A320 in Southern France, believed to have been deliberately caused by a depressed pilot.
Air India is the first airline to have publicly acknowledged the need for stricter psychological profiling of potential aircrew. “If 25% of [potential pilots] have been red-flagged by psychologists, it is a serious concern and should be looked into seriously,” said Mohan Ranganathan, spokesperson for India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), adding the regulator might make similar checks mandatory because all pilots “should be tested psychologically to ensure that flying is safe.”
After the results were published, a group of rejected applicant pilots sent a letter to Air India executives saying the tests were flawed and not conducted properly. In the letter, the pilots wrote that they could not be judged in a ten-minute verbal psychometric test. “Without conducting a proper psychometric test, how can a doctor conclude that all the rejected candidates are mentally unfit? If that is the case, then can Air India explain how among the rejected candidates there are some who have been selected to pilot Go Air and IndiGo,” the pilots alleged.
Meanwhile, Air India is seeking offers from banks and financial institutions to raise $110 million for making a 10% advance payment on six B787s for delivery in FY2016-17. Earlier reports in the Indian media had suggested Air India was looking to convert these commitments to the larger and longer-range -9 variant. The flag carrier last week said it was in talks with Airbus over a planned order for 14 A320neo to replace its ageing fleet of ex-Indian Airlines A319/320s.
