Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Directorate General of Civil Aviation grounds foreign pilot for fake medical record

NEW DELHI: In a possible first, an expat pilot working with an Indian charter company has been barred from flying in the country for allegedly fudging his medical tests. Pilots need to be healthy - both physically and mentally - and require valid medical certificates to prove their fitness and operate flights.

"The expat pilot flew without a valid Federal Aviation Administration, regulator for United States) approved medical.  Then he flew without an Indian medical certificate for one month. He later got his medical done here by falsely claiming that he did not operate any flight during the period when his previous medical tests certificates had lapsed.  Unfortunately, for him all the statements were contradicted by his flying record with the charter company which had employed him," said a senior official.

Expat pilots fly in India when the Directorate General of Civil Aviation issues them "foreign aircrew temporary authorization" (FATA) licenses after they clear some exams. On detecting the alleged medical fraud by this pilot, the regulator withdrew his FATA,  which means he can no longer fly for an Indian company. 

The United States Federal Aviation Administration has also been informed of the "alleged illegal" action of this pilot.

The nationality of this pilot could not be ascertained. 

Indian airline or charter companies hiring expats has always been a controversial issue as there are believed to be hundreds of young middle class Indians who spent lakhs of rupees to get a commercial pilot license. 

Original article can be found here: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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