AI suspends pilot who got job with fake papers

The Air India senior pilot, whose sister complained that he was flying on fake educational degrees, has been suspended from the airline.

An AI spokesperson confirmed the development. However, Ajay Khadtale, the pilot concerned, did not respond to the calls made by dna.

Dr Manisha Kanagali, a Bandra resident, had accused her brother of fraudulent practice and sought information through RTI to prove her claim that he submitted fake class XII certificates to get a flying certificate. She also claimed that Ajay Khadtale was causing danger to lives of air passengers.

Following this, the AI authorities had enquired with the Bihar Intermediate Education Council (BIEC), Patna, about the validity of the certificate submitted by Khadtale. In its reply, the institute stated that the name of Ajay Khadtale, roll code 1130, roll no. 10549, for the year 1995, was not on the records of the council.

The case took a sudden twist when the Directorate General of Civil Aviation's (DGCA) investigation also found out that the Bihar education council did not have any record of Khadtale but a letter stating that he had passed in first class landed up at the Air India office in Mumbai. However, on verifying, the letter was found be fake.

"AI's personnel manager Shobha Moorthy told me that she got suspicious of the letter when she found it on her table. Generally, letters in government departments are received and dispatched through a proper channel," Kanagli had told dna earlier in February this year.

In 2011, aviation regulator DGCA had taken strict action against more than 15 pilots working with various airlines on the allegation that they had submitted fake certificates for getting flying licence.