My nephew and several others faced a similar predicament.
He was mid-way through his training, with only 18 hours left to complete the required 40 hours on the twin-engine aircraft to complete his course, when it was stopped as the aircraft which was leased by the school was repossessed.
Another twin-engine aircraft was grounded due to technical problems.
My nephew had earlier done 140 hours on single-engine. He had not flown for seven months and calls to the school as to when his twin engine training could resume and the course be completed, only drew blanks.
It was only after seven months being in the dark and the problem highlighted in the newspapers that the school sent my nephew to another flying school and paid for him to complete his training. He completed his course in mid-July. It took him three years 10 months to complete his course.
When he enrolled in 2007, the school gave the assurance that the course would only take 18 months, but demanded that the full course fees of RM280,000 excluding accommodation to be paid in full upfront.
When asked why the school needed the full sum to be paid upfront, the reply was: “Meet the requirement or go to another school that allows two payments”.
Left with no choice my younger brother who works with an oil company in a foreign country issued a cheque for the amount.
The Department of Civil Aviation and the Ministry of Higher Learning should make regular checks on these schools and also ensure that they have the required number of aircraft and instructors in ratio with the number of cadet pilots that have been enrolled.
Just approving the start-up of these schools will not do. It must be ensured that they also have sufficient funds to acquire or lease aircraft.
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