DGCA to strengthen Flying Training Directorate in wake of scam
06 Apr 2011
New Delhi: Facing public outrage over the matter of forgery and bribery in the issuing of pilot licences, the government today said it would strengthen the DGCA's Flying Training Directorate by creating seven additional posts over and above the two at present.
"The Government has created nine positions in the Flying Training Directorate in addition to one Director, Flying Training," an official release said.
Currently there was one director (flying training) and a senior pilot in the Directorate.
The statement also acknowledged that the current Senior Pilot "…does not have his current rating. However, he is not required to carry out any flight test…" but inspect flying club records and papers, like training log book and fuel registers, before allowing renewal of licences.
The release said in 2009, 11 posts of Flight Operation Inspectors (FOIs) were filled up on an ad-hoc basis. At present, there were nine FOIs on the rolls of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
The aviation regulator has been caught in a storm of controversy over the fake pilots issue. So far, a senior DGCA officer, seven pilots and three touts have been arrested.
DGCA chief EK Bharat Bhushan had called a meeting of all flying schools last week to put together an action plan which would take on the issue of fudging of documents to obtain licences.
According to Bhushan, of the 4,500 Airline Transport Pilot Licences issued, over 1,700 licences have so far been scrutinised and seven have turned out to be fake.
