Fake pilots scam: DGCA to scan 10,000 licences

The directorate General of Civil Aviation plans to scrutinise over 10,000 commercial pilot license (CPL) holders and conduct a third-party audit of all flying schools in the country in the wake of the forged flying licence scam.

In recent months, it has emerged that pilots' licences can be bought in India without the necessary qualifications; and not only touts but entire flying schools are involved in the life-endangering racket.

Apart from this, the aviation authority is also worried about the problems faced by a large number of Indian youths who go abroad for training and return with fake or invalid pilot licenses.

But this seems to be a slightly far-fetched angle. ''Worried about the muck in its own backyard, the authorities are seeking to deflect attention by throwing the mud wherever it sticks,'' said an aviation sector watcher.

Besides the six cases of pilots using forged documents to get their licenses, "we have got some more suspicious cases, but there is nothing confirmed as yet and investigations are going on," DGCA chief E K Bharat Bhushan told newspersons in New Delhi today.

The six cases of forged documents that have come to light are two each from air carriers IndiGo and SpiceJet and one each from Air India and MDLR.