56 Pilots Fail Air India's Mental Health Test, Call It Unfair And Demand That The Results Be Cancelled

In a first-of-its kind test after the Germanwings crash, where French authorities said the co-pilot locked the commander out and crashed the plane, Air India has said 56 of 278 candidates who appeared for a recent job interview failed the psychometric test.

The failed pilots have alleged the test -conducted orally by just one psychologist -was a farce and have petitioned the civil aviation minister demanding that the test results be declared void. The test was conducted in the first fortnight of May as part of a recruitment drive for first officers specialised in flying the Airbus 320. Some of the rejected applicants already have job offers from Go Air and Indigo.

On May 13, Air India made public the names of 91 shortlisted candidates on its website, which is not even half its total requirement of 197. The airline said it will now look at hiring commercial pilot license (CPL) holders and train them later. While Air India refused to identify the psychologist who conducted the oral test, only saying it had roped in an IAF psychologist for the exercise.

The rejected applicants alleged the so-called test was just a 10-minute chat, where they were asked basic things like personal details, why they wanted to join Air India, etc.

Candidates said some of the questions in the test were - what does your father do? Why do you want to fly for Air India and not the Indian Air Force? How will you deal with an unruly passenger? A candidate who answered the question on unruly passenger with, "I will follow Air India's standard operating procedure by remaining inside the cockpit along with the commander," ended up being rejected.

Apart from writing to Air India Chairman and Managing Director Rohit Nandan, the pilots have also petitioned civil aviation minis ter, Ashok Gajapathy Raju, Union minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy, himself a top pilot, and Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi.

The letter, accessed by Mirror, asks four crucial questions to the Air India management: While its mentioned in Air India's website that after its merger with Star Alliance it has been following global practice, why did it conduct an oral test without prior notice and not a proper written test? "This question becomes important because no global airline in the world has such oral tests, and the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) procedure follows a written test system," a rejected candidate said. Second, if Air India is so keen on taking medicals of the selected candidate, then why was the psychometric test taken before the candidates were made to appear for a simulator test, for which the airline took a non-refundable fee of Rs 20,000? Third, where does this leave candidates rejected by Air India but currently flying with other airlines? Fourth, if the pilots cleared the simulator test, isn't it unfair that one doctor passes judgment on their mental fitness following a 10-minute chat? AMumbai-based candidate who appeared for the tests said, "Since the psychometric test is itself very dynamic in nature, it can be different for different persons on a given day. And not just that, it can also vary at times even on hourly basis. And hence keeping this fact in mind, how can Air India conclude that we are mentally unfit in a matter of 10 minutes of verbal communication."

Narrating his experience, the pilot added, "I was called twice for the interview, which lasted for an hour as compared to 25 minutes of average per candidate. The first part of my interview was technical with a few general questions pertaining to crisis management and that lasted for 45 minutes. My interview ended on a good note. I was again called in a matter of 5 minutes and this time instead of 6member team in the panel only the lady doctor was present. She interviewed me for another 15-20 minutes."

A Delhi-based pilot said the way the test was carried out was questionable, with no prior announcement or even a mention of it in the advertisement. "The test should have been announced before the simulator checks.Candidates would not have had to pay for nothing," said the woman pilot, who has a loan of Rs 30 lakh she had taken to pay for the commercial pilot flying course.

Air India stood by its test and a spokesperson refused to venture into the repercussions of the test. "All the candidates found suitable by the selection board, which includes a psychologist, and taking into account the marks obtained in the simulator proficiency assessment check and the personal interview, have been empanelled for the post of senior trainee pilots," said G P Rao, spokesperson, Air India.

(Originally published in Mumbai Mirror)