Stung by the widespread criticism over ‘fake’ pilots and flaws in the pilot licensing process which could have led to these cases, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has decided to overhaul the entire licensing process for converting foreign licences into Indian ones.
It has also decided to conduct the Airline Transport Pilot Licence or ATPL exam (meant to certify commanders) entirely online from July this year to remove any discrepancies in the earlier process which was manual.
So for the first time ever, DGCA will now do extensive verification checks — asking the foreign authority concerned — about the veracity of the applicant’s claims on flying experience etc before even beginning the process of licence conversion.
Once veracity is established, the aspirant will have to undergo a mandatory skill test — proving that his flying experience is not merely on paper — India.
DGCA chief E K Bharatbhushan told DNA on Thursday that that till now, no verification was being done for conversion cases from foreign licensing authorities and no skill tests were required either.
“What we propose to do now is ensure that all pilots who want licence conversion to undergo a skill test in India. Further, in case the pilot does not meet the recency requirement at the time of submission of application for conversion, he shall also be required to comply with the recency requirement in India”.
Recency means the aspirant should have flown the particular aircraft (for which he has the license from abroad) at least six months before submission of conversion application. These measures will come into effect soon and the DGCA is expected to issue the relevant CAR (Civil Aviation Requirement) for this purpose in the next few days.
Bharatbhushan said applicants who want to proceed for flying training abroad will first have to clear a specific technical examination to obtain a no objection certificate by the DGCA for aircraft with weight less than 5,700 kg.
The DGCA has already begun a comprehensive audit of all 40 flying schools within the country and Bharatbhushan said 24 have already been inspected. “The entire process should be over in one-and-a-half months....many of them may not qualify. We are giving them time to explain anomalies”.
Since the first case of a ‘fake’ pilot was discovered by Bharatbhushan earlier this year, 22 such individuals have been arrested. They have either provided forged documents to secure licenses or fudged flying experience from Indian flying schools as well as from abroad.
Comments