'This (crash) is one of those times where there is no concrete explanation yet for what happened. I think that adds to my parents' worry.'
India's last three major commercial aviation accidents --Patna (2000), Mangaluru (2010), and Kozhikode (2020) -- could offer critical safety lessons for the ongoing investigation.
Ahead of two crucial audits, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has proposed to allow deputy director generals (DGs) and officers of Indian Air Force (IAF) to apply for the post of chief of India's aviation regulator. The current head of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Arun Kumar, has been promoted as secretary and is expected to move out some time soon. DGCA has four Deputy DGs with experience in different fields of aviation.
'In multi-pilot operations, no critical switch can be moved without the other pilot's consent.'
The fledgling Akasa Air has told the Delhi high court it is in a "state of crisis" following the "sudden and abrupt" resignation of over 40 pilots who left the airline without serving the mandatory notice period. The airline and its CEO Vinay Dube approached the high court with their petition on September 14, seeking a direction to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to take coercive action against these pilots for their "irresponsible actions". The high court has fixed the plea for hearing on Friday.
On July 25 and 26, the regulator's team carried out the surveillance of Air India in the areas of internal audit, accident prevention work and availability of required technical manpower.
The Delhi high court on Wednesday agreed with the contention of Akasa Air that the DGCA is not completely barred from taking action against pilots who violate the terms of their employment agreements. However, the court did not grant any immediate relief to Akasa Air which sought direction to the DGCA and Union Ministry of Civil Aviation to take action against its pilots who have resigned without serving the notice period, saying it will first decide the issue of jurisdiction raised by the aviation sector regulator. Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora said since the Directorate General of Aviation (DGCA) has contended it has no jurisdiction to consider a representation made by the airline against the defaulting pilots under the extant law as it was a contractual dispute, the court will have to first decide the issue of jurisdiction before passing any other direction.
'A few answers for the reason of the crash will be known -- whether it was a technical fault, design issue, human error etc.'
'Who tried engine relight?' 'If the first officer was the one flying at takeoff, the captain may have taken control immediately post-thrust loss.' 'But the AAIB report doesn't clarify any of this.'
The safety and security of citizens is primary for the government, he said.
Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), which operates India's largest airport, dismissed the expert committee report as "inaccurate", claiming it relied on "probabilities, hypothesis, and conjectures" rather than empirical data or complete documentation.
Nayagam PP, a certified career counsellor and the founder of EduJob360, lists the top and emerging career streams in engineering.
The fundamental responsibility for preventing such crimes and for bringing the criminals to justice rests with the State, and it cannot abdicate that function.
'Whoever is doing it (threats to airlines), they are actually carrying out a recce.' 'This is the manner in which terrorists strike.'
In an advisory, DGCA said there are provisions under the civil aviation requirement for action to be taken by the airline to deal with unruly passengers.
Aviation is a juicy target. It's a 24x7 industry, which cannot afford delays or loss of customer credibility.
Indian civil aviation norms don't apply to foreign aviation companies, experts said.
Seeking full utilisation of the Indian airspace, civil aviation authorities are in the process of training pilots and ATC personnel and introducing advanced technology to gradually reduce air distnce between two aircraft from 50 nautical miles to 15.
In November, airlines resorted to raising spot fares by up to 300 per cent on various routes.
'In 50 seconds, the pilots were fighting drag, trying relight, throttling up and avoiding obstacles.' 'They had neither height nor speed. There was no margin.'
The number of serious incidents has more than doubled in the last seven years.
According to CAPA, partial abolition of the 5/20 rule was a serious compromise.
The sources said that an ATC posted at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi was subjected to the drug test.
Facing headwinds due to pilot exits, Akasa Air on Friday said it had approached the Delhi high court seeking interpretation and clarification with respect to mandatory notice period requirements for pilots and that the move was not against the DGCA or the civil aviation ministry. Akasa Air, which started flying in August last year, has initiated legal action against a "small set of pilots" who left the carrier without serving their notice periods that led to cancellation of many flights. In a statement, the airline said it sought relief from the Delhi high court to stop the unethical and illegal practice by this set of pilots.
Pilots might soon be asked not to use perfume, mouthwash and tooth gel as that may result in positive breath analyser test. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has sought comments on a draft Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) wherein it has also proposed barring crew from using any "drug/formulation or use any substance such as mouthwash/tooth gel/perfume or any such product which has alcoholic content". Comments have been sought on the CAR, which pertains to procedure for medical examination of aircraft personnel for alcohol consumption, till October 5.
Aviation security regulator BCAS on Wednesday slapped fines totalling Rs 1.80 crore on IndiGo and Mumbai airport operator MIAL over the incident of passengers having food on the airport's apron. The apron is the area around the aircraft where it has finally parked for deboarding.
Aviation watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has asked Vistara to submit a daily report on flight cancellations and delays as the Tata group airline cancelled more than 50 flights for the second straight day on Tuesday amid non-availability of pilots.
This is the second time in less than a week that the watchdog has taken enforcement action against the airline in connection with unruly passenger behaviour.
Aviation security watchdog BCAS has recommended installation of scanners based on computer tomography technology at airports whereby passengers will not be required to take out electronic devices from their hand baggage before going through the scanner. Currently, the scanners used at airports provide a two-dimensional view of the objects inside a hand baggage. Jaideep Prasad, Joint Director General of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), on Wednesday said the regulator has proposed installing scanners based on computer tomography technology at airports that will provide a three-dimensional view of the objects in hand baggage.
India's aviation safety ranking was on Wednesday upgraded to Category-I.
The woman said she was constrained to approach the court because Air India and the DGCA failed to treat her with care and responsibility after the incident.
Citing various aspects, the forum has appealed to the DGCA to "withdraw the harsh punishment and suspension of the PIC". it said.
Taxes on ATF in India are among world's highest, and are seen as key reason for mounting losses of airlines.
Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapthy Raju remained unfazed on Wednesday saying his exemption from frisking at airports should not be taken as a threat to security.
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Such direct import was formally allowed in February 2012 but the aviation companies lack the infrastructure to do so.
Akasa Air has asked the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to exempt it from deploying CAT-III trained pilots on flights to and from two major fog-affected airports, Kolkata and Bengaluru, for specific periods, since there is a shortage of such pilots in its roster.
The incident came to the notice of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) only on January 4 and the latest actions are for violations of various norms.
Amid Delhi's worsening air quality, which has plunged into the severe plus category with an AQI consistently above 450, Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Tuesday called for immediate intervention from the central government.
In his petition, Kamra said he was banned by IndiGo for a six-month period before its internal committee even arrived at a decision while other airlines -- Air India, Spicejet and GoAir -- imposed an indefinite ban on him.
American companies should explore the wealth of opportunities in the areas ranging from airport modernization and aerospace to maintenance, repair and overhaul and cargo, he said while inaugurating the third US-India Aviation Summit in New Delhi.
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