A third of shortlisted candidates applying to be pilots with India’s leading airline have failed the test which analyses their psychological health, since December 2015.

These applicants to Air India had all previously successfully cleared the simulator and technical exams before failing the psychometric test.

Air India sources have revealed that 130 of the 413 candidates had not passed this crucial test which was introduced by the airline in December.

The exam was introduced after the co-pilot of a Germanwings flight crashed his plane into the Swiss Alps in March 2015, killing all 150 on board.

Evidence shows Andreas Lubitz, 27 locked the captain out of the cockpit of the flight from Barcelona to Duesseldorf, triggered the automatic descent mechanism and deliberately steered the plane into a remote mountainside.

An investigation into the incident showed he had been suffering from psychological issues for several years and was plagued by depression and suicidal thoughts.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) – the Indian governmental regulatory body for civil aviation – ordered regular monitoring of pilot’s mental health last year based on recommendations of a committee headed by joint director general Lalit Gupta.

However it is unclear whether candidates rejected by Air India went on to find employment with other private carriers.