14 pilots lose licence to fly – 25.3.11 -- TOI

DGCA Cracks The Whip On Pilots With Forged Certificates
Manju V | TNN

Mumbai: In an unprecedented move, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Thursday revoked a total of 14 Commercial Pilot Licences, ending the careers of those pilots who had submitted fake flying training records from Rajasthan State Flying School to procure their licences.
This is the first time that the government has taken such a tough action against pilots who indulge in fraudulent practices.
One of the 14 pilots who lost their licence is the son of a DGCA official. “Following inputs from the Anti-Corruption Bureau investigating the case, we had cancelled the licences of eight pilots. Today we cancelled another six CPLs,’’ said Director General of Civil Aviation Bharat Bhushan.
Once a CPL licence is cancelled, the person is no longer a pilot. He/she can approach the court and challenge the DGCA’s decision to revoke their licence. “But since they do not have a strong case, it is unlikely that these people will fly as pilots again,’’ said an aviation source. The matter pertains to 14 pilots who did their training in Rajasthan State Flying School. One of the requisites for earning a CPL is 200 hours of flying training. “These pilots had not undergone the total 200 hours of training. The chief flight instructor of this school had issued them fake records of flying training sessions,’’ said a source. It means their CPL licences were obtained fraudulently. India is not the first country though to handle cases like this with such stringency. “In the UK, if you are caught copying in a pilot exam, you will lose your Airline Transport Pilot Licence and CPL as well. Your career as a pilot ends there,’’ said a senior commander, adding that it is not possible to submit fake documents to UK’s aviation regulator as the entire system is computerised. In India, the norm followed was that of leniency.
The licence would be kept under suspension. There are past instances where the DGCA restored suspended licences and allowed the pilots concerned to fly, even before they got a clean chit from the court. But current director general has been strict in dealing with such cases. Apart from fake flying hour scam, the DGCA has been investigating fake pilot licence marksheet racket and is currently going through the records of 4,000 airline pilots. Two more cases of fake marksheets involving airline commanders were detected on Thursday.