Did the pilots smoke?
The airline "Yakutia" cast doubt on the legality of the survey, which revealed drugs in the bodies of the pilots. According to them, doctors in the port of Magadan gave the pilots some pills
Director General of Yakutia Airlines Ivan Prostit said that the legality and results of the survey, which revealed the fact of drug use by the crew of the airline’s flight N758, are doubtful, and the company will challenge them legally. "The medical pre-flight examination and drug testing took place with numerous violations, we will dispute their results," he told reporters on Thursday.
He also noted that he himself did not believe that the crew commander could use marijuana. "Prokopiev (crew commander convicted of using marijuana - IF) for 27 years in aviation, I personally know him well - he doesn’t even smoke cigarettes and is very careful about his health. I don’t believe that he could use drugs," Prostit said . In turn, the head of the medical unit at Yakutia Airlines, Larisa Cherkasova, said that increased pressure and increased heart rate among crew members, which caused them to be removed from the flight and tested for drugs, could be the result of stress caused by the violation of the standard pre-flight procedure. "From the very beginning, outsiders were at the preflight inspection, which is prohibited by the rules. They began to check the pilots more in depth than usual, which also violates the standard procedure. This in itself could cause stress and a change in medical parameters," said Cherkasova. She also noted that the doctors in the port of Magadan gave the Yakut pilots some pills to relieve pressure, perhaps, she believes, these drugs caused a positive test for drugs. At the same time, Yakutia’s lawyer Sergei Kukarev said that the initial rapid test for alcohol and drugs, which was done at Magadan Airport, showed that the crew were sober. A further study, which showed the presence of drugs - marijuana, in the analyzes of the crew commander and stewardess, was conducted with violations and its results are doubtful. "Biomaterial sampling and research was carried out by the Aviomeditsina MS institution, which does not have a license for such type of activity, for drug testing. The test material, urine, was taken in an amount three times smaller than the minimum required volume - 10 mg instead of 30 , storage and transportation were carried out with violations, "Kukarev emphasized. He said that the legal department of the airline has already sent documents to the relevant authorities on challenging the removal of the aircraft crew from flights and on verifying the legality of the drug test. In addition, a letter was sent to the Federal Air Transport Agency in which the Yakutia airline indicates the inadmissibility of statements made by the head of the North-East Interregional Territorial Administration of Rosaviation (BICTU) Alexander Bugakov, who stated to the media that the crew of the Yakutia airline were found to be in use drugs. “Bugakov, in accordance with the law, is not authorized to make such statements. Only the court can make a final decision - whether a person used drugs or not, and before the court’s decision such statements are illegal,” S. Kukarev noted. At the same time, Prostit said that the airline is not currently considering any versions of unfair competition or provocations. "There is no talk of competition or provocation now. The airline protects the rights of its employees and its good name. Subsequently, when the results of the investigation are available, we will think about lawsuits for compensation for moral damage and damage to business reputation," Prostit said. He also said that a commission is currently working to investigate the circumstances of the incident, which was created on Wednesday by order of the Sakha (Yakutsk) Interregional Territorial Administration of Air Transport of the Federal Air Transport Agency. The aircraft commander, Prokopyev, whose analyzes in Magadan showed the presence of drugs, is currently undergoing training at a training center, after which he will be hospitalized in a narcological clinic for a comprehensive in-depth examination. The flight attendant, in whose analyzes marijuana was discovered, has already been hospitalized. Earlier it was reported that on October 21, during a pre-flight inspection of crew members of a Boeing 757 aircraft owned by the Yakutia airline, a decision was made to suspend three crew members from whom the doctors revealed an increased heart rate and high blood pressure. Subsequently, according to the results of a chemical-toxicological study conducted by the GUZ of the Magadan Regional Narcological Dispensary, the fact of using marijuana by the aircraft commander and flight attendant was revealed. Then on board the aircraft were 192 passengers. A shift crew delivered them from Magadan to Moscow. Departure delay was 12 hours. "A procedural audit is being conducted, during which an assessment will be made of the presence in the crew members of signs of a crime under Article. Of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation" the provision of services that do not meet security requirements "," an official representative of the Far Eastern SU told Interfax-Far East agency earlier on transport SKR Natalya Salkina.
Source: InterFax.Ru
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