Guys, I buy your points on the age of the aircraft.
Here's some more on the DGCA
Crash impact: DGCA grounds three small-time operators
NEW DELHI : Within two days of the fatal aircrash involving southern filmstar Soundarya, the Director-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has cracked the whip on small-time charter operators.
According to a senior civil aviation ministry official, licences of three small charter operators have been cancelled.
The DGCA has also sought a detailed list of such small-time operators who do not meet the laid-down operating guidelines.
"A list has also been sought from political parties on the various operators they have signed up with," the official said.
The crash has come as a wake-up call for the DGCA. Last month, its regular review of air transport operations in India revealed that a majority of air accidents occur due to non-compliance of procedures and flight crew errors; almost 60% of them occur due to the mistakes of the flight crew.
Recently, the cabin door of a KingAir plane opened and detached from the aircraft and fell on the runway immediately after the plane took off.
Though the aircraft landed safely, investigations later revealed that the pilot had asked one of the passengers to close the door. Worse, the crew did not even check if the door had been closed properly.
Then, in a fatal accident involving a helicopter engaged in a sight-seeing flight, it was found that walkie-talkie was being used for two-way communication between the pilot and the ground unit instead of the normal communication system.
Industry watchers blame both political parties and small-time operators.
"Most of these small aircraft are manned by inexperienced pilots and even the crew are not trained to meet any emergencies," said Kapil Kaul, vice president of Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation.
Source: The Times of India
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