Pilots fudge records even on the job

If you think that pilots forge marksheets and tamper with flying hours only until they get their licences, this will come as a real shocker. A senior airline commander from a private airline says that the fudging of records continues even after the pilots are safe and secure in their jobs. The fraud goes unchecked due to gross oversight and connivance of airline officials with the directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) officials.

According to the commander, the shortage of co-pilots often turns into a boon for the commanders who fly as P1 (pilot number 1). “When an airline is running short of commanders, it schedules the flight with two qualified commanders and requests them to fly ‘one way in command’ for the flight. One way means one sector only,” he said.

After they have flown however, both the pilots log both sectors as having being flown in command in their individual log books. Thus, their command hours are willfully reflected wrongly. “In the co-pilot’s (P2) column of their log books, they enter the names of any of the airlines’ employed P2s, a co-pilot who has not even flown with them. Log books pile up on the table of the airline clerk who has to countersign them. Due to work overload, he usually signs the books without any check and puts a rubber stamp over the month’s summary of the flying done by the commanders,” he alleged.

These fraudulently obtained extra hours go a long way in making the commanders’ lives prosperous. “This is because to apply for the post of commander in some of the foreign airlines, the commander needs a minimum of 2,000 hours of flying in command, this extra logging comes in very handy,” he said. “If getting a licence through fraudulent means is illegal, then what would you call this practice?” the commander asked.

Another captain said that the route checks conducted by the flight operations inspector (FOI), who is from the airline but works on deputation from DGCA, are also not done seriously. The checks are conducted after a pilot returns to duty from a break. The flight inspector checks the returning pilot’s efficiency before letting him be rostered for the flights. “Though the route checks are to be done by individuals with whom the pilot is not familiar so that it does not lead to favoritism, this is grossly overlooked and flouted rampantly. Due to heavy networking in the industry, the pilots are allowed to take route checks with those FOIs with whom the former is comfortable. So, this too is just a formality,” the commander revealed.