Reps raise alarm over pilots flying under ‘alcohol, drugs influence’

The House of Representatives has raised the alarm over alleged practices of commercial pilots operating under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
To this end, the House has ordered the relevant aviation regulatory authorities to carry out comprehensive checks of cabin crew members of airlines with a view to preventing air mishaps.
The resolution came following a motion titled: “Dangers of Pilots Flying under the Influence of Alcohol and Psychoactive Substances” sponsored by Hon.
Taofeek Adaranijo, calling on the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, to routinely subject members of crew and pilots to various tests before and after flights to determine their fitness before they can fly.
The House has also urged Airline owners to carry out due diligence to ensure only responsible pilots and crew members are allowed to fly aircrafts and as a matter of importance do it regularly to reflect when they were first employed by the airline management.
“In May 2017 when NCAA conducted random test on 87 personnel from Air Peace, MedView and Air Traffic controllers of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) as they were about to embark upon flight operations and air traffic control duties, a member of crew was tested positive to a psychoactive substance- Tetra hydro can animal(THe) which is known to be the chemical responsible for most marijuana’s psychological effects,” sponsor of the motion, Adaranijo said while leading debate on the motion.
According to him, psychoactive drugs worked by manipulating the synapses in between nerves in the central nervous system thereby distorting thought processes and causing a variety of side effects such as anxiety, psychosis, moods swings, depression and sleep problems, all of which are not suitable to the job demands of pilots and crew members.
Several members spoke in support of the motion before it was passed through voice votes