Several flights
ferrying thousands of passengers in the country operate without the
aviation regulator’s surveillance, according to the report submitted by a
government independent air safety committee.
The report by the Civil
Aviation Safety Advisory Council (CASAC), a body set up after the Air
India Express crash at Mangalore in 2010, states that majority of the
flight operation inspectors (FOIs) appointed by the aviation regulator
for the critical surveillance job barely turn up at work.
The
FOIs’ job entails regular monitoring whether airlines are following the
safety procedures prescribed by the DGCA that includes cockpit en-route
inspection, aircraft cabin inspection and evaluating simulator checks by
aircrew.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had
appointed these senior pilots on deputation to make up for its shortage
of full time FOIs. As a result, the pre-condition for the job was
serving the regulator’s office for at least four days a week.
But
an attendance sheet for the month of September produced by CASAC shows
that none of the 21 pilots selected for the job reported to work for 16
days. In fact, 12 of them were present for less than 10 days.
“The
CASAC has pointed out this violation several times but the nobody is
willing to take action,” said Captain Mohan Ranganathan, member CASAC.
Considering
the time-consuming nature of the job and its bearing on passenger
safety, the DGCA has asked airlines to nominate pilots who do not hold
senior managerial positions.
But the report states that even that
parameter was violated. Of the 21 FOIs, 19 hold crucial managerial
positions in domestic airlines. “Three of FOIs worked with
Kingfisher Airlines which is bigger violation because the airline’s license is currently suspended,” said Captain Ranganathan.
The
report gains importance as its findings have come to light a week
before the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) audit on
flight safety standards in the country.
Incidentally, the global
policy maker for air safety norms had slammed the DGCA over shortage of
FOIs and lack of surveillance during its audit in 2006.
“I hope the DGCA is able to explain such serious safety violations to the ICAO,” added Captain Ranganathan.
http://www.hindustantimes.com
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