Currently With IndiGo, After Repeatedly Failing In Regular Exam, Rashmi Sharan Clears Special Exam In First Attempt
Manju V | TNN
Mumbai: The joint director general of civil aviation appears to have flouted a Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) norm on pilot license exams to help his daughter procure a Commercial Pilot License (CPL). Joint director Alok Kumar Sharan, who is second only to director general Bharat Bhushan in the DGCA office, was the deputy director general (training and licensing), the department that handles issuance of pilot licenses, when his daughter, Rashmi Sharan, appeared for three special exams to clear three CPL papers.
Rashmi took these special exams after failing in repeated attempts to clear these three CPL subjects in the regular exams. Rashmi is currently a first officer in Indi-Go airline.
Yet, she cleared the same papers on her first attempt in the special exams. When it comes to special exams, the pass percentage in these subjects mysteriously shoot up to 90-100 percent, said an aviation source.
It was not without reason that one of the first things that the current director general did after assuming office was to scrap the practice of holding special exams. Rashmi started giving CPL exams in April 2006 and got her license in October 2008.
The Times of India scoured through the results of ten pilot license exam regular sessions held between April 2006 and October 2008 and found that Rashmi, who appeared for five regular sessions, consistently failed in Air Navigation, Aircraft Technical (general), and Aviation Meteorology.
The highest marks she ever scored in her regular exam attempts in Air Navigation was 58/100 (to pass, 70% is needed), in January 2007. This, despite it being one of the easiest Air Navigation papers ever to be set, with an astounding 54% of candidates clearing it and the highest score being a record 94/100.
To clear the five CPL ground subjects, Rashmi had 17 regular attempts over a period of two years and managed to clear only two papers -- Air Regulations and Aircraft (specific), the easiest of the lot. For most pilots, mugging the provisions of the Indian Aircraft Act to clear Air Regulations and learning by rote the inane details of an aircraft like maximum take-off weight, fuel tank capacity etc to clear Aircraft (specific) is child's play. But solving the treacherous Air Navigation numericals, understanding the confounding workings of gyroscopic instruments or grasping the theories of why an aircraft flies the way it does demands a greater aptitude.
The minimum marks to clear CPL subjects is 70/100 and in the regular exams the average pass percentage is about 10% for Air Navigation, 15% for Aircraft Technical (general) and 30% for Aviation Meteorology. DGCA records show that Rashmi Sharan cleared these three subjects in special exams, in which, as already mentioned, the pass percentages improve dramatically.
According to the DGCA's special exam policy, a candidate can appear for special exams in one and only one subject. During Rashmi's time, in 2007-08, two subjects were allowed. But there were numerous conditions.
The candidate should have cleared all the other remaining CPL subjects, finished all flying requirements and, crucially, the validity of his flying hours or exam results should be on the verge of lapsing. In short, a special exam could be given only if the candidate could not afford to wait for the oncein-three-months regular exams. Documentary evidence to establish eligibilty is also mandatory while applying for a special exam.
That means Rashmi could not have appeared for three special exams without giving a fraudulent undertaking. Why did the DGCA officials overlook it and clear her to sit for three special exams in June 2007, May 2008 and September 2008? When she appeared for her first special exam in June 2007, she had neither cleared the remaining four subjects nor had completed her flying hours. In fact, she did not appear for three regular attempts after that, choosing to sit only for special exams.
"In each regular exam, about 2,000 candidates fail in every subject, but only 10-15 of these get to appear in a special exam and that too when, all except one subject is cleared,'' said the source. Following the recent fake pilot licence scam, the DGCA began the process of verifying documents of thousands of pilots.
When asked for his comments, Director-General Bhushan said, "I have stopped the practise of holding special exams." He added that he would need to look into this case.
The practise of holding special exams for a select few candidates is a scam that is much bigger than the fake pilot license racket. Unlike regular exams, special exams lack transparency.
They are held in the DGCA headquarters where a handful of candidates appear for their respective papers and are informed about their results in a few days. "With a couple of conniving DGCA officers, a candidate can sit even with an open book and no one would know," said an airline pilot. Also, for some reason, the DGCA routinely rejects the applications of several candidates who are actually eligible to appear for special exams.
The IndiGo spokesperson said, "Rashmi was found suitable as a junior co-pilot based on simulator evaluation/technical tests conducted by IndiGo after obtaining her A320 type rating and meeting all DGCA required licensing and medical requirements at the time of joining." The airline added that all candidates applying to IndiGo are treated equally on merit.
PERFORMANCE IN REGULAR EXAMS
2006 April: Appeared in five subjects. Cleared one
2006 July: Appeared in 4 subjects. Failed in all
2006 Oct : Appeared in 2 subjects. Failed in both
2007 Jan : Appeared in 3 subjects. Passed in one
2007 April : Appeared in 2 subjects. Failed in both
2008 April : Appeared in one subject. Failed
PERFORMANCE IN REGULAR ATPL EXAMS
2010 January: Appeared in one subject. Failed
April 2010: Appeared in one subject. Failed
PERFORMANCE IN SPECIAL EXAMS
June 2007:
Appeared in Air Navigation, passed
May 2008: Appeared in Aviation Meteorology, passed
September 2008:
Appeared in Aircraft (General), passed
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