The Directorate Common of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has imposed a positive of Rs 99 lakh on Air India and two senior executives for working a flight in July with unqualified pilots. The violation of security laws occurred when a trainee pilot and a non-trainer pilot operated a business flight as a pair, elevating important security issues. The incident occurred round July 10 and was dropped at the regulator’s consideration via a voluntary report submitted by Air India.
The DGCA has levied a Rs 90 lakh positive on Air India, with extra penalties of Rs 6 lakh and Rs three lakh on the airline’s director of operations and director of coaching, respectively. The regulator emphasised that the incident had “important security ramifications,” because the flight was commanded by a non-trainer captain paired with a non-line-released first officer. The pilot concerned has been warned to train larger warning sooner or later to stop related occurrences.
Complete Investigation
Following the report, the DGCA performed a radical investigation into Air India’s operations, together with an examination of documentation and a spot examine of the airline’s scheduling facility. The investigation revealed a number of regulatory violations and deficiencies amongst a number of publish holders and employees, which may have had severe security implications.
Response and Earlier Incidents
The pilot-in-command and senior executives had been issued present trigger notices on July 22, however their responses failed to supply passable explanations, resulting in the penalties. This incident provides to a collection of latest regulatory actions towards Air India.
In March 2024, the DGCA fined Air India Rs 80 lakh for violations associated to flight obligation time limitations (FDTL), that are designed to make sure pilots obtain satisfactory relaxation to stop fatigue-related incidents. In February 2024, the airline was fined Rs 30 lakh after an aged passenger suffered a deadly coronary heart assault as a result of airline’s failure to supply a requested wheelchair.
Earlier in January 2024, Air India confronted one other Rs 30 lakh positive for not assigning sufficient skilled pilots for low visibility landings (CAT-III landings), which is essential for sustaining security throughout dense fog situations.
