DGCA suspends Air India's safety chief over 'perfunctory' audits
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has suspended Air India's Chief of Flight Safety, Captain Rajeev Gupta, for a month after comprehensive surveillance of the airline conducted in July revealed serious deficiencies in critical areas. The DGCA's surveillance, conducted over two days, found "deficiencies" in the areas of internal audits, accident prevention work, and the availability of essential technical manpower. The airline's internal audits were carried out with a lack of diligence, it said.
Why does this story matter?
The action follows reports that the DGCA uncovered Air India's false internal safety audit reports last month. The development dampened Air India's plans for rebranding, which were unveiled earlier in August. Tata Sons wholly owns the loss-making airline and is set to merge it with Vistara by March next year. The conglomerate's claims of revamping and pulling the airline out of financial troubles are likely to be undermined.
What did DGCA say?
The DGCA issued a statement saying, "The surveillance found deficiencies in the accident prevention work carried out by the airline and the availability of the requisite technical manpower." "Further, it was observed that some of the internal audit/spot checks claimed to be carried out by the airline were done in a perfunctory manner and not as per the regulatory requirements," it added. After the airline submitted the action taken report, the regulator issued show-cause notices to the concerned officials.
Air India falsely claimed to have conducted spot checks
The DGCA inspection team reportedly found lapses in several areas of Air India's operations, such as Pre-Flight Medical Examination (pilots' alcohol consumption tests), ramp services, and cabin surveillance. They also found discrepancies in the airline's flight safety auditors list and their authorizations. It also found that Air India falsely claimed to have completed a spot check in cabin surveillance. It noted that Gupta had not signed the spot-check reports despite being authorized and required to do so.
DGCA recently suspended Air India's simulator training activities
The aviation regulator's investigation revealed that Air India failed to ensure comprehensive accident prevention work and lacked the required number of technical personnel specified in the approved Flight Safety Manual and relevant Civil Aviation Requirements. Notably, these are crucial to ensuring passenger and flight safety. Recently, the DGCA also suspended simulator training activities for pilots operating the Airbus A320 at Air India's facility in Hyderabad due to lapses found during an inspection, PTI reported.
