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Anti-narcotics agency steps in on 'drunk pilot' probe
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Citilink president director Albert Burhan (right) speaks to state-owned airport operator Angkasa Pura II general manager for Supadio Airport in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, on Dec. 1, in front of a Citilink aircraft prepared to make a maiden flight from the city to Batam, Riau Islands. Albert announced his resignation following an incident last month at Juanda International Airport in which a Citilink pilot showed up for work allegedly intoxicated. (Antara/Jessica Helena Wuysang)
T
he National Narcotics Agency (BNN) said Thursday that it would carry out a drug test on a former Citilink pilot who was recently fired by the low-cost carrier for allegedly showing up drunk for work.
BNN deputy head of drug eradication Insp. Gen. Arman Depari said the agency had conducted an initial test on the pilot, identified as Capt. Tekad Purna, and would soon conduct a laboratory test to check for a possible history of drug use.
“We can deliver the result to the public within three days,” Arman said, adding that the BNN would take urine, blood and hair samples to test.
The pilot previously underwent a medical test at Juanda International Airport clinic in Surabaya, east Java, and one ordered by the Flight Safety Agency in Jakarta.
(Read also: Citilink top executives resign after 'drunk pilot' incident)
People have speculated on the cause of the unfit state of the pilot. The use of so-called “tobacco gorilla”, a new psychoactive substance containing synthetic marijuana, was one such speculation.
An initial Citilink passenger report on the pilot, posted on social media platform Twitter, alleged that the pilot was drunk when in the cockpit of a plane and preparing to fly from Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, East Java, to Soekarno Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten, on Dec. 28.
Tekad reportedly made an incoherent predeparture announcement, which baffled passengers, some of whom stormed off the aircraft for safety reasons. (hwa)
