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Tag: <span>DGCA</span>

Pilot Taking a Nap, Co-pilot Busy on Tablet; Jet Airways Boeing 777 Drops 5,000 Feet over Turkey

Jet AirwaysAn inquiry has been launched after the Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) found out that a Jet Airways flight abruptly descended 5,000 feet over Turkish airspace, on August 8.

The Indian media reports that the incident first came to light on August 12 when the Director General of DGCA, Lalit Gupta, received an anonymous SMS, informing him about the incident.

It was discovered that the captain of the flight 9W-228, on its way from Mumbai to Brussels, was taking a controlled nap at the time while his co-pilot was supposed to sit on the controls. However, the co-pilot claimed that she did not notice that the aircraft is descending below the assigned level since she was busy with her electronic flight bag (EFB) – a tablet containing aircraft documents. She realized the situation only after getting a call from the air traffic controller in Ankara, Turkey, and immediately woke up the captain, who then brought the Boeing 777-300 back to its level.

The DGCA has suspended the pilots and launched an investigation to find out whether the sudden drop was caused intentionally or accidentally by the co-pilot. The DGCA has also decided to audit the airline’s training procedures for the pilot.

According to Jet Airways, “The airline is also extending all co-operation in the matter to the DGCA by providing all necessary assistance for the inquiry. Safety is of paramount importance to Jet Airways as is also the welfare of our guests and crew and the airline will always take appropriate steps to ensure the same.”


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165 Pilots in India Found Drunk in Pre-Flight Tests, During Last 5 Years

In reply to an RTI application filed by the Time of India, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), India, has revealed that between 2009 and February 2014, 165 pilots throughout the country were grounded after their pre-flight medical tests showed high levels of alcohol in their blood.

Among these, 50 pilots were from Delhi, 47 from Mumbai, 18 from Kolkata, and 17 from Chennai.

The statistics also showed that the number of pilots with higher-than-allowed level of alcohol in their blood has increased every year. In 2009, only 35 such cases were reported while in 2013, 41 pilots were found to have high blood alcohol levels.

The DGCA has not released the names of the airlines where these pilots work. According to official sources “The information pertains to third party, hence details cannot be provided according to the RTI Act.”


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Indian Airlines to Employ Real-Time Plane Tracking; Orders DGCA

The civil aviation regulator of India has issued a directive, ordering the airlines to use real-time tracking for locating the planes.

In the directive, the Director General Prabhat Kumar has obligated the airlines to track all of their aircrafts with the on-board Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) or Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B). In areas where these two systems do not have coverage, the airlines will be required to devise other mechanisms to ensure real-time tracking. Operators will also need to ensure that the real-time tracking systems are in working condition before the flight.

The order has been issued in context of the preliminary report released by Malaysian authorities, which revealed that the flight 370 could not be located because the aircraft did not transmit its coordinates in real-time.

According to the statement released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), “While commercial air transport aircrafts spend considerable amount of time operating over remote areas, there is currently no international requirement for real time tracking of the aircraft. This uncertainty resulted in significant difficulty in locating the aircraft in a timely manner.”


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Revised Safety Rating for India

India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has been notified that the US is downgrading its aviation safety ranking, based on failure to meet the standards of the ICAO. The International Civil Aviation Organization regulates technical, training, inspection, records, airworthiness, and operations standards. The safety downgrade is partially due to a September FAA audit which found 33 DGCA deficiencies including too few experts, maintenance deficits and poor documentation.

India’s being lowered to safety category II means that there will be consequences affecting Air India and Jet Airways Indian flights.

See the release below:

Press release: FAA Announces Revised Safety Rating for India
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) today announced that India has been assigned a Category 2 rating under its International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) program, based on a recent reassessment of the country’s civil aviation authority. This signifies that India’s civil aviation safety oversight regime does not currently comply with the international safety standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO); however, the United States will continue to work with India’s Directorate General for Civil Aviation (DGCA) to identify the remaining steps necessary to regain Category 1 status for India. With a Category 2 rating, India’s carriers can continue existing service to the United States, but will not be allowed to establish new service to the United States.

India achieved a Category 1 rating, signifying compliance with ICAO standards, in August 1997. A December 2012 ICAO audit identified deficiencies in the ICAO-set global standards for oversight of aviation safety by India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Subsequently, the FAA began a reassessment of India’s compliance with ICAO standards under the FAA’s IASA program, which monitors adherence to international safety standards and practices. The FAA has consulted extensively with the DCGA and other relevant Indian government ministries during its evaluation, including consultations in India in September and early December, and meetings this week in Delhi.

“U.S. and Indian aviation officials have developed an important working relationship as our countries work to meet the challenges of ensuring international aviation safety. The FAA is available to work with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation to help India regain its Category 1 rating,” said FAA Administrator Michael Huerta.

The Government of India has made significant progress towards addressing issues identified during the September 2013 IASA assessment. On January 20, the Government of India took further steps to resolve outstanding issues when the Indian Cabinet approved the hiring of 75 additional full-time inspectors. The United States Government commends the Indian government for taking these important actions, and looks forward to continued progress by Indian authorities to comply with internationally mandated aviation safety oversight standards.

Additional Background on the FAA’s IASA Program:

As part of the FAA’s IASA program, the agency assesses on a uniform basis the civil aviation authorities of all countries with air carriers that operate or have applied to operate to the United States and makes that information available to the public. The assessments determine whether or not foreign civil aviation authorities are meeting ICAO safety standards, not FAA regulations.

A Category 2 rating means a country either lacks laws or regulations necessary to oversee air carriers in accordance with minimum international standards, or that its civil aviation authority – equivalent to the FAA for aviation safety matters – is deficient in one or more areas, such as technical expertise, trained personnel, record-keeping or inspection procedures.

Countries with air carriers that fly to the United States must adhere to the safety standards of ICAO, the United Nations’ technical agency for aviation that establishes international standards and recommended practices for aircraft operations and maintenance.


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India Aviation In Crisis-DGCA Examiners Examined

What does it mean when the teacher flunks the exam he’s teaching?
What does it mean when three teachers flunk the exam they’re teaching?

Three Jet Airways examiners flunked the DGCA exam, Manoj Manha and M. Shain had “inadequate subject knowledge” of the Airbus they are purported to be experts of and Anupam Khanna was “casual” and “lacking in cockpit discipline.” Manha and Shain will be continuing as examiners after corrective training.

The deficiency casts a shadow on all of those whose expertise was qualified by Manha, Shain and Khanna.

It means that if the DGCA is going to follow through and maintain standards, every person qualified by these examiners (or otherwise taught by them) is scrutinized and retested.

Can pilots be deemed competent when they have been trained by incompetents?

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