Air India is under the scrutiny of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) once more, with two of its pilots taken off flying duty due to lapsed licenses, reported the Times of India.
A senior Air India captain was benched for having a lapsed English Language Proficiency (ELP) licence, and yet having flown a flight within the last month. Similarly, a co-pilot was grounded for flying without undergoing mandatory corrective training after not being able to clear the bi-annual pilot proficiency check (PPC) – instrument rating (IR) test.
The DGCA is investigating both these cases as the pilots were allowed to fly within the last month despite the lapses. The regulatory body has sought a report from Air India about this.
In the case of the co-pilot, while not being able to clear the bi-annual pilot proficiency check (PPC) is seemingly not out of the ordinary, it does require the pilot in question to undergo corrective training and get their proficiency rechecked to a satisfactory level of performance before they are allowed to return to their flying duties.
However, since the Airbus A320 co-pilot allegedly flew within the last month, without undergoing corrective training, the authorities are investigating the issue diligently.
“An instance of a first officer operating a flight after an unsatisfactory recurrent training check was detected by the training team,” said an Air India spokesperson. “As soon as the error came to our notice, a crew scheduler and the pilot involved were off-rostered. Strong disciplinary proceedings have been initiated, and the same has been duly reported to the regulator, DGCA.”
For the second case, a senior commander served as the pilot-in-command on an A320 flight, even though his ELP license had lapsed. A valid ELP license is one of the mandatory requirements for pilots in order to be able to fly.
“An instance of a senior pilot operating a flight with a lapsed ELP licence was detected. As soon as the error came to our notice, the senior pilot involved was off-rostered, and the matter is being investigated. The same has been duly reported to the regulator, DGCA,” said the Air India spokesperson.
TOI reported that senior pilots believe that such lapses raise questions about how Air India is overseeing its pilots to ensure that only compliant pilots are allowed to operate flights. Given the compliance issues that DGCA had unearthed in Air India’s rostering within a week after the tragic June 12 crash, the regulatory board had removed three senior officials.
DGCA has also warned the airline that “any future violation of crew scheduling norms, licensing, or flight time limitations will attract strict enforcement action, including but not limited to penalties, license suspension, or withdrawal of operator permissions as applicable.”
