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Door Locks Out Air India Captain


On May 13/14, 2013 the cockpit door of one of Air India’s planes locked the captain out while he was using the toilet. The co-pilot and trainee pilot had to land the plane in Bhopal for ground maintenance engineers to fix the problem.

On May 13, the flight took off from Delhi for Bangalore.

Air India’s official statement was that the captain couldn’t return to the cockpit because the door was locked and that all efforts to open it, even from inside, failed during Tuesday’s flight from New Delhi to the southern Indian city of Bangalore.

The airline claims that no one was endangered during the “unscheduled landing.” No doubt the passengers watching the pilot attempting–and failing–to open the cockpit door would disagree. Apparently there was some degree of panic among the passengers. This is just one in a long series of air safety issues from Air India.

After the plane landed at 5.55pm, ground maintenance engineers did fix the door. The flight continued to Bangalore at 8.45 pm, and made a safe landing at at 8.45 pm.

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    Mangalore Public Notification

    COURT OF INQUIRY INTO THE CAUSE OF ACCIDENT TO B737-800 AIRCRAFT VT-AXV ON 22.05.2010 AT MANGALORE AIRPORT

    An Air India Express Boeing 737-800 aircraft VT-AXV met with an accident at Bajpe Airport, Mangalore on 22nd May 2010, while operating a scheduled flight IX-812 from Dubai to Mangalore, resulting in tragic death of 152 passengers and 6 crew members.

    A Court of Inquiry has been ordered by the Government of India, vide Notification No AV.15013/02/2010-DG dated 3rd June, 2010. As per the notification, the Headquarters of the Court of Inquiry will be at New Delhi. The court is required to submit its report by 31st August, 2010.

    Constitution of the Court of Inquiry: –

    The court consists of the following: –

    (a) Air Marshal (Retd) BN Gokhale : Chairman
    (b) Capt Ron Nagar : Assessor
    (c) Shri SS Nat : Assessor
    (d) Shri Babu Peter : Assessor
    (e) Shri Gurcharan Bhatura : Assessor
    (f) Shri SN Dwivedi :Secretary to the Court

    A brief Bio-data of each member of the Court of Inquiry is given below: –

    Air Marshal BN Gokhale

    Air Marshal BN Gokhale PVSM AVSM VM (Retd) was commissioned into the Indian Air Force in June 1968. He has flown over 3500 hours on various fighter and trainer aircraft and has taken active part in 1971 operations. He is a Qualified Flying Instructor and a Fighter Combat Leader from the prestigious Tactics and Combat Development Establishment. During his illustrious career, he has held several operational and staff appointments, He has commanded a frontline
    fighter squadron during the Siachen Operations. He has been Chief Operations Officer of an operational base and has also commanded a premier air base. Air Marshal Gokhale has been an Instructor at the Defence Services Staff College and Inspector at Directorate of Air Staff Inspection. He has had assignments abroad which include Flying Instructor in Iraq and Indian Defence Advisor in Embassy of India, Cairo. Apart from being a graduate of the Defence Services Staff College, he is an Alumnus of Air War College, USA and a Fellow of Aeronautical Society of India.

    He has served as Air Advisor to the Chief of Air Staff, Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Operations) and Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of IAF Training Command, Bengaluru, prior to taking over as the Vice Chief of Air Staff. On retirement as the VCAS in Dec 2007 he has been appointed as Scientific Consultant to the Principal Scientific Advisor to Govt of India. He is also appointed as Consultant to DRDO and National Security Council.

    Captain Ron Nagar

    Capt Ron Nagar is the Senior Vice President (Flight Operations and Training) with King Fisher Airlines Pvt. Ltd.

    He is an accomplished pilot with 37 years of experience in Flight Operations wherein he has been Executive Director (Safety) and Chief Executive (Training) at Indian Airlines. He has been a Training Captain for 30 years, a TRE (Examiner) on Boeing 737,Airbus A320 family and HS 748.

    He has participated in several international seminars and training courses, related Human Factors, Aviation Security, IOSA awareness, Aircraft accident prevention, Emergency Response and Crisis communication. He was also a Simulator instructor and has evaluated Simulators.
    Shri SS Nat

    Shri SS Nat, Deputy Director General of Civil Aviation, India (Retd) is a Type-rated Aircraft Maintenance Engineer Licence holder with rich experience in Civil Aviation. He has successfully completed DGCA approved Maintenance Training on Heavy Aircraft and Jet Engines.

    He has worked for about 30 years in the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), India in various capacities and retired as Deputy Director General in 2006. He was Head of Airworthiness Wing of DGCA from 1996 to 2004. He has been associated in the formation of various Civil Aviation Requirements during his tenure with DGCA.

    He has also carried out Audits, Surveillance inspections and Surprise Checks on Scheduled, Charter and General Aviation operators during his tenure with DGCA to ensure compliance of regulatory requirements.

    He was a member of the initial stage accident investigation Team for the crash of Alliance Air’s Boeing 737 aircraft at Patna on 17 July 2000.
    Shri Babu Peter

    He is a graduate of Electrical Engineering from Regional Engineering College Calicut, Kerala. He joined Air India as a Graduate Engineer in 1971, and has worked as a Licensed Aircraft Maintenance
    Engineer over 25 years. He holds valid licenses on several Boeing and Airbus aircraft and their Engines.

    He was the Director of Engineering Air India from 2002 to 2004 and the Director of Engine Overhaul in Air India from 2004 to 2005. He later moved over to Indian Airlines as Functional Director and Board Member and retired from Indian Airlines in 2006.

    He is presently working as Executive Vice President Engineering in GoAir. He is also a Fellow of Aeronautical Society of India and was the Chairman of Academic Committee in the year 2008-09. In the past he has also been Assessor to the Court of Inquiry in to two aircraft accidents in the past. Boeing 737 accident at Palam, in 1995 and Dornier 228 accident in Kochi.

    Shri Gurcharan Bhatura

    Shri Gurcharan Bhatura specializes in Air Traffic Management and Airport Operations. After completing the ab-initio programme for Air Traffic Controller, he started his career at Delhi airport and acquired all the possible ratings. Director General Civil Aviation appreciated his services when he saved a Boeing 747 aircraft from landing on a wrong runway at Delhi Airport. Subsequently he specialised in airport operations and held the position of Airport Director at Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai airports. He is also recognized for his analytical abilities and management skills. Prior to his retirement in 2005, he was Executive Director in AAI.

    A fellow of the Aeronautical Society of India and Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, he is presently Director General of Foundation for Aviation and Sustainable Tourism – a think tank in Civil Aviation. With 42 year long association with Civil Aviation Industry, he has written several well-researched articles on related subjects.
    Shri SN Dwivedi

    Shri S N Dwivedi is Graduate in Electrical Engineering and Post Graduate in Management. Presently, he is working as Director of Airworthiness at DGCA Hqrs., New Delhi and has vast experience in Civil Aviation Department since 1986 till date. During his service in Civil Aviation Department, he has completed the various professional and technical courses covering Heavy Aircraft and Jet Engines including Boeing 737 and Airbus A – 320 aircraft.

    Shri S N Dwivedi has been involved in Court of Inquiries for investigation of the following aircraft accidents:

    ? Indian Airlines Boeing 737-200 Aircraft VT-ECS accident on 2nd December, 1995 at IGI Airport, Palam, New Delhi, headed by Air Marshal (Retd.) JK Seth, PVSM, AVSM, VM.

    ? Archana Airways LET – 410 Aircraft VTC accident on 11th July, 1996 at Kullu, headed by Air Marshal (Retd.) S Ramdas, PVSM, AVSM, VM.

    ? High level inquiry committee into escalator accident on 13th December, 1999 at IGI Airport, Palam, New Delhi, headed by Shri RC Jain, IAS (Retd.)

    ? Alliance Air Boeing 737-200 Aircraft VT-EGD accident on 17th July, 2000 at Patna Airport, headed by Air Marshal P Rajkumar, PVSM, AVSM, VM.

    Convening of the Court:

    On the very next day of the Government Notification, the court convened on 4th June, 2010. The Court took stock of the situation and available information. The Chairman along with all the members met the officials of the Ministry of Civil Aviation regarding some of the administrative arrangements.

    Investigation Process:

    In an accident of such a nature, the DGCA appoints an Inspector of Accident immediately. This is done to take stock of all the activities relating to accident till the Court of Inquiry is instituted by the Government of India. The Inspector of Accident is required to submit his reports giving his observations / findings to the Court of Inquiry constituted by the Government of India. Thereafter, the Court of Inquiry takes over the charge of accident investigation.

    Senior officers of DGCA reached Mangalore on 22nd May, 2010 itself for a first hand appraisal. The search for Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR) known as ‘Black Box’ was initiated. CVR records the conversation of the flight crew among themselves and with ATC including any sound in the cockpit. DFDR records various parameters of the aircraft, engines and their systems. CVR and DFDR were recovered from the wreckage with the outer casing damaged due to heavy fire and impact during accident. However, the data storage module appeared to be intact. Since suitable facility to retrieve the data from partially damaged CVR and DFDR do not exist in our country, the Court of Inquiry decided to carry out decoding of these recorders at the facility of M/s National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Washington DC, USA.

    Visit to the Accident Site:

    The members of the Court of Inquiry visited Mangalore airport and the accident site from 7th to 9th June, 2010. The members of the court observed two minutes silence to pray for the departed souls at the crash site.

    The members of the Court of Inquiry met with Emergency Response Team which took part in the post crash Search and Rescue (SAR) operation; and heard their observations of the fateful day. The court visited ATC Tower, Area Control, Fire Station, and Meteorological Office and met the personnel who were on duty on the day of the accident. The court also met and interacted with the officials of District
    Civil Administration, City Police, City Fire Service, District Health Administration and Air India Express personnel at the airport, who were involved in the post accident search and rescue operation.

    The Court also visited the city hospitals where two of the eight survivors are undergoing treatment. The Court interacted with the team of doctors treating them in the hospitals. The survivors narrated their experiences to the Court.

    Interaction with Key personnel of M/s Air India Express:

    The Court visited the facilities of M/s Air India Express at Mumbai and met its key officials in the evening of 9th June, 2010. The Air India Express officials made presentations regarding their Organisational Structure, Flight Operations, Maintenance and other facilities including Emergency Response Plans.

    Brief of Boeing 737-800 aircraft:

    Boeing 737-800 aircraft is an upgraded version of Boeing 737 aircraft family. The passenger seating capacity of this aircraft is 186 and is manned by 2 operating and 4 cabin crew. Its maximum take off weight is 77110 Kg. The aircraft is powered with two CFM-56 Jet Engines. The Manufacturer’s Serial Number (MSN) of the ill-fated aircraft is 36333, Line No. 2481 and it was manufactured during the year 2008. This Boeing 737-800 aircraft was delivered to Air India Express during January, 2008. This aircraft had accumulated 7189 Flight Hours and 2829 Landings, till the date of accident.

    Brief of the Crew-members:

    The Commander of the ill-fated aircraft was Capt Glusica Zlatko , of Serbian origin and British Nationality paired with First Officer HS Ahluwalia, an Indian National, as co-pilot. There were four cabin crew members namely Miss Sujata Survase, Miss Tejal Anil Kumar Kamulkar, Mr Yugantar Rana and Mr Mohammad Ali.

    Capt Glusica Zlatko had a total experience of about 10,200 Flying Hours, out of which, he had total Command Experience of about 7630 Flying Hours. He had flown about 2770 Flying Hours as Pilot-in-Command (PIC) on Boeing 737 aircraft. He was examined by the DGCA and issued with authorization called Foreign Aircrew Temporary Authorization (FATA) to operate Indian registered aircraft.

    First Officer HS Ahluwalia had a total flying experience of about 3650 hours. He had flown about 3350 hours as Co-pilot on Boeing 737 aircraft and operated 66 flights to Mangalore Airport.

    Synopsis of the accident:

    Air India Express Boeing 737-800 aircraft VT-AXV was operating scheduled Flight No IX-812 from Dubai to Mangalore on 22nd May, 2010 with 160 passengers and 6 crew members on board. This aircraft was given clearance to land on runway 24 by the Mangalore Air Traffic Control (ATC) Tower. However, during landing, the aircraft departed the paved surface including the Runway End Safety Area (RESA). The right wing impacted the localizer structure at the end of the RESA. Thereafter, the aircraft hit the boundary fence, fell into the gorge and caught fire. Due to impact and fire, the aircraft was destroyed. In this tragic accident, 152 passengers and 6 crew members lost their lives. Seven passengers sustained serious injuries and one person escaped with minor bruises.

    Rescue Operations:

    The rescue operation was initiated by the officials of Airport Authority of India (AAI). AAI and Air India Express were assisted by the officials of District Administration. Local population was involved in the rescue operation In full force and their involvement was appreciated by all concerned. The survivors were rushed to nearby hospitals for treatment. Thereafter, Volunteers of Air India Emergency Response Team, commonly known as Air India Angels, worked tirelessly to provide succour to the injured and to the bereaved families.

    Analysis of CVR and DFDR:

    A team consisting of three members of the Court of Inquiry left for Washington DC, USA from 21st to 25th June, 2010 for analysis and decoding of the CVR and DFDR at the facilities of M/s National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Government of United States of America. All the activities were carried out under strict supervision of the Court of Inquiry.

    The data recovered from these Recorders is being analysed by the Court along with other material evidence.

    Notification:

    A notification is being published in the News Papers inviting any information or evidence on this accident. Such information should reach the court by 20th July 2010 by Post, Fax or e-mail as per the details given below:

    Shri SN Dwivedi
    The Secretary to the Court of Inquiry – Boeing 737-800 aircraft VT- AXV accident at Mangalore
    Office of DGCA, Technical Centre,
    Opposite Safdarjung Airport,
    New Delhi 110003

    Tel. 011 24611357

    Fax. 011 24692374

    e-mail coi.voml@gmail.com
    coivoml.moca@nic.in
    sndwivedi@hotmail.com

    Public Hearing:

    The Court also plans to hold Public Hearings at Mangalore and Delhi for the convenience of those who wish to participate in the deliberations. Dates and Venue of these Public Hearings will be notified at a later date.

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    Blame Samuel Jackson for Two More ATC Suspensions

    The Ohio, controller who watched a DVD while monitoring three planes sent audio of Samuel Jackson in the movie The Cleaner to those three planes over his mike, and sticking his mike in the ON position so he couldn’t receive calls. The FAA announcement of that controller’s suspension said that a military pilot on an alternative frequency heard the movie broadcast over airspace. That controller has been suspended along with his manager.

    Is this Oberlin Ohio controller the only one doing this or was he just the only one unlucky enough to get caught? What other distracting solutions have air traffic controllers found to keep them from falling asleep during long dull lapses during the night? FAA policy prohibits the use of portable DVD players.

    We haven’t heard from Samuel Jackson.

     

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    Chairman Resigns!

    At a press conference Oct 31 in Brasília, Board Chairman Milton Zuanazzi, the last remaining member of ANAC’s former board of directors of the National Civil Aviation Agency (Anac) announced his resignation from the board.

    Zuanazz based his decision on claims that the National Civil Aviation Agency was the “scapegoat” for Brazil’s current air crisis.

    He said publicly that he “would not like to work” with Defense Minister Nelson Jobim, a position which is certainly understandable since Jobim has been trying to remove him since July.

    He delayed his resignation to the current time to allow Jobim to find new directors. Zuanazzi says that Jobim is not well-informed about Brazil’s aviation system, and classifies some of his proposals as “reckless.” The last straw was Defense Minister Nelson Jobim’s proposal to increase the required distance between airplane seats. Doing so would force carriers to raise fares, Zuanazzi said.

    One wonders how raising the distance between airplane seats will increase the safety factor, which is at the root of the whole aviation problem in Brazil.

    Zuanazz recommends Civil Aviation Secretary Solange Paiva Vieira to be his replacement.

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    Teamsters, TWU Labor Alliance Applaud PBS Frontline Report

    Safety of the American Traveling Public and Crewmembers Must be Maintained, Unions Say

    WASHINGTON, Feb. 7, 2011 — Today, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Airline Division and Transport Workers Union (TWU) commended PBS “Frontline” on its investigative report into airline maintenance. The two unions also stated that much remains to be addressed to ensure the safety of the traveling public.

    The report brought to light the increasing use by U.S. airlines of maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facilities that are not part of the airlines maintenance departments. In many cases, it noted these facilities use non-licensed technicians or mechanics with little or no training on the aircraft. In some cases the workers had very limited or no understanding of English, making it impossible to read maintenance repair manuals that specify the FAA required procedure to fix an aircraft.

    According to the report, one facility used by major U.S. airlines, when notified in advance of an upcoming FAA safety inspection, hid unauthorized and illegal parts from FAA inspectors, and subsequently returned them to inventory after the inspection for use. Incidents of “pencil-whipping,” a practice of signing off aircraft logbooks indicating repairs had been accomplished when they had not, were also reported. The report also revealed that internal airline documents stated that these falsified repairs came to light only after the aircraft was returned to service and in some cases, could have resulted in loss of the aircraft and loss of lives.

    On Jan. 20, 2011 it was announced that the FAA has proposed a $1.025 million civil penalty against San Antonio Aerospace, L.P., for failing to conduct FAA required pre-employment drug tests or waiting to properly verify those tests before hiring as many as 90 people to perform safety-sensitive functions between March 2007 and May 2008. The company is a subsidiary of Singapore Technologies Aerospace and in Nov. 2009 was renamed ST Aerospace San Antonio. According to U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, the agency alleges that 25 total employees performed “safety-sensitive” work before the results of the drug testing had been verified, and that 62 workers were not administered the test.
    Teamsters Airline Division Director David Bourne, commenting on the report and proposed FAA fines said, “The airline industries increasing use of MRO’s with problems similar to those mentioned in the documentary has been a concern for some time. Hearing the nature and gravity of the FAA inspection and proposed fines at ST Aerospace is even more troubling.”

    “When an airline has a fully staffed facility on its property, with mechanics and technicians that are fully trained and licensed on the specific airplane that needs to be repaired and a complete and legal parts inventory, we have to question the reasoning behind sending airplanes elsewhere to get repaired at substandard facilities,” Bourne said. “Compromising safety to increase the bottom line is simply unacceptable. Doing so during a time when many airlines are now reporting record profits, is even worse. This is not a new issue. We have watched with great concern at airlines who have taken aircraft from airports in the U.S. with fully staffed and qualified mechanics and technicians and flown them, in some cases, halfway around the world to get repaired in a facility where English is at best, sometimes a second language, just to save money.”

    John M. Conley, Administrative Vice President of the Transport Workers Union, also commented on the issues exposed in the PBS report.

    “More often than not, this work is done with minimal or substandard oversight to ensure a proper repair and FAA compliance,” said Conley, who is also a member of the FAA’s Future of Aviation Advisory Committee (FAAC). “When we have a situation where properly trained and skilled airline maintenance professionals are pushed aside to increase profits, we are left with an environment where pilots have no way of knowing who repaired an aircraft or if the repair was properly accomplished; in effect they become flying guinea pigs along with the flight attendants and passengers.”

    Conley, whose union represents airline professionals at several U.S. airlines explained, “We all say we are committed to safety, but sometimes safety is elusive. Maintenance, repair and overhaul work can and should be done properly and safely by the airlines maintenance facilities utilizing trained and qualified employees — to find that the FAA has fined ST Aerospace and also Pemco troubles us as well.

    “In the Pemco case, the FAA had asserted that Pemco could not comply with even basic FAA requirements on three occasions. This again brings into question why any airline would use a facility that can’t meet the same requirements that they themselves must adhere to. It starts with a commitment to safety and a safety culture; something that does not appear to be a high priority with some of these facilities,” Conley said.

    In December, the Teamsters and TWU sent a joint letter to Chairman Jerry Costello (D-IL) supporting his call for additional oversight hearings on MRO facilities.

    “Airline management must be held to the highest standards when it comes to the maintenance of commercial airliners and the people who work on them. Accepting the minimum standard should never be good enough for the FAA. The traveling public and the crews that operate these airliners must never be compromised. They should not have to guess if the airliner they are travelling on was properly repaired or if the work was done by the cheapest bidder,” Conley stated.

    Bourne continued, “We are pleased to note that recently, FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt, himself a former airline pilot, was quoted as saying, ‘Safety is compromised when our regulations are skirted or ignored. The traveling public has to be confident that the people who perform work on their planes are complying with those regulations.’ We agree completely with the administrator,” Bourne said.

    Transport Workers Union of America represents 200,000 workers and retirees, primarily in commercial aviation, public transportation and passenger railroads, including the majority of ground workers at American Airlines, American Eagle and Southwest Airlines and dispatchers at most major carriers. The union is an affiliate of the AFL-CIO. For more information, visit www.twu.org.

    Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. For more information, please visit www.Teamster.org.

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    4000 Pilots Under the Eye After Fake Pilots Fly for Air India


    Four pilot impersonators, including Air India Captain JK Verma and Indigo’s Parminder Kaur discussed in the video below, were caught flying without proper licenses which has led to a countrywide pilot probe, seeking more fake pilots and shady flight schools. It has been discovered that bogus certificates were used to endow pilots with licenses. Sham pilots were found to be flying for Air India. Pilot Arjun Giare was caught cheating on in US pilots and his US license cancelled, but is currently flying for Air India. Discrepancies were found in certificates from a school in Delhi, the Chinmaya Vidyalaya Senior Secondary School in Vasant Vihar. Some flying schools appear to be sanctioning fake pilots; it is not known if this school is one of them.

    The falsified documents have forced the India’s aviation authorities to examine 4000 pilot licenses for irregularities. Although the director general of civil aviation, Baharat Bhushan said that fake licenses are few, how can he know this is true before the investigation? There is a documented history of corruption, including 57 pilots who were being prosecuted for drunkenness on duty.

    With no disrespect for the decedents who are not here to defend themselves, for the sake of those passengers who lost their lives, this is just a question that requires examination:

    What about the licenses of Captain Zlatko Glušica, and first officer H.S. Ahluwalia—the pilots in the Air India Express Flight 812 crash in May of 2010—were they legitimate? Plato said, “We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.” We can not be children and avoid the truth. We can not be afraid of knowing. For the sake of those who are now lost, and in the interest of justice, we need to shine the light of truth into that May 2010 cockpit, and in fact all cockpits where a pretender may be placing lives at risk..

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    Bird Strike in India


    Pictured: AnIndiGo Airbus
    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer

    What: IndiGo Airbus A320-200 en route from Bhubaneshwar to Delhi
    Where: Biju Patnaik Airport, Bhubaneshwar
    When: Aug 28th 2010
    Who: 140 passengers and 6 crew
    Why: On takeoff, the Airbus suffered a bird strike. Ground crew witnessed a part or parts falling. The crew decided to return to Bhubaneshwar where they made a safe landing.

    A replacement jet is being flown in to complete the Hyderabad-Bhubaneswar-New Delhi flight.

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