DGCA suspends licence of AI pilot for allowing unauthorised person in cockpit

Mumbai: DGCA has suspended the licence of an Air India pilot by one year for allowing an authorised person in the cockpit of the Chandigarh-Leh flight earlier this month, an official statement said on Thursday. The licence of the Pilot-in-command has been suspended for one year while licence of the First Officer has been suspended for a period of one month, the DGCA said.

DGCA ordered the grounding of both pilots pending investigation

Following the incident that took place on June 3, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) ordered the grounding of both pilots pending investigation. As per DGCA safety norms, unauthorised people are not allowed to enter the cockpit, and any such entry could violate norms.

Pilot in Command of M/s Air India flight AI-458 allowed an unauthorised person into cockpit

"On June 3, the Pilot in Command of M/s Air India flight AI-458 (Chandigarh Leh) allowed an unauthorised person into the cockpit during departure and the person remained in the cockpit throughout the flight," the DGCA said in the statement.

Outcome of investigation

The first officer "did not raise any concern" for the unauthorised entry of the person into the cockpit or report the violation, it said. "Based on the outcome of its investigation the pilot license of the PIC has been suspended for a period of one year for misuse of his authority vested under the Aircraft Rules 1937, and allowing violation of the applicable DGCA regulations," the DGCA said in the statement. "The pilot license of the First Officer has been suspended for a period of one month for not being assertive in preventing and non-reporting of the violation," it stated.

The DGCA last month slapped a fine of Rs 30 lakh on Air India for not reporting a similar incident that took place on its Dubai-Delhi flight in February this year. In the February incident, the aviation regulator slapped a fine of Rs 30 lakh on Air India for lapses in effectively addressing the "safety-sensitive issue" related to the incident of a pilot allowing a female friend into the cockpit during a Delhi-Dubai flight on February 27.

While imposing the penalty, the DGCA had said that Air India did not take prompt corrective action. It had also suspended the licence of the pilot who operated the flight for three months while the co-pilot was warned for not being assertive in preventing the violation.

The safety regulator in February imposed a penalty of Rs 20 lakh on Tata Group-owned budget carrier AirAsia India for violation of certain norms relating to pilots' training. While imposing financial penalty, it also ordered the removal of AirAsia India's head of training from his position for a period of three months besides imposing a fine of Rs 3 lakh each on eight Designated Examiners (Des) of the airline.

(PSU Watch– India's Business News centre that places the spotlight on PSUs, Bureaucracy, Defence and Public Policy is now on Google News. Click here to follow. Also, join PSU Watch Channel in your Telegram. You may also follow us on Twitter here and stay updated.)