The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), civil aviation regulator, has temporarily suspended the approval of Boeing simulator training facility of Air India, due to specific lapses observed by the regulator.
The suspension of Air India’s exclusive Boeing simulator was reportedly a result of the DGCA’s periodical audit. They identified several non-compliances with the regulatory stipulations during the audits that led to prompt collateral action. The audits are a part of DGCA’s continuous monitoring, aiming to keep Indian aviation standards on par with the best of the world.
DGCA has temporarily suspended Air India’s Boeing simulator training facility for certain lapses. The regulator is verifying some documents related to the matter,” PTI quoted a source as saying.
The DGCA has not provided any specific details about the nature of the discrepancies. However, it is inferred that the lack of compliance pertained to training and certification of pilots on the Boeing flight simulator. The punishingly realistic simulators are used to familiarize pilots with the plane’s operational procedures and to prepare them for emergency situations.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is “verifying” some of the documents pertaining to the matter and will take a call on the restoration of the training facility once it completes the process, PTI quoted the source as saying.
Air India is the national carrier of India and has an exclusive Boeing simulator training facility in its Central Training Establishment (CTE) in Hyderabad. Many of the airline’s pilots, as well as pilots from other airlines, have received training and certifications from this facility.
This comes after a two-member DGCA inspection team allegedly found lapses in the airline’s internal safety audit reporting, prompting it to launch a probe in the matter. A decision on the restoration of the training at the facility will be taken once the documents’ “verification” process is completed, PTI quoted the source as saying.
Air India wide-body fleet comprises Boeing 777 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. The carrier is also likely to induct Airbus wide-body A350 planes in its fleet from this year end. According to the inspection report submitted to DGCA last week, the airline was supposed to carry out regular safety spot checks in various areas of operations such as cabin surveillance, cargo, ramp and load but during a random inspection of 13 safety points, the team found that the airline prepared false reports in all 13 cases.
SOURCE – businesstoday.in / click to read the news at the source
