SpiceJet sacks 2 pilots for fudging flying hours
NEW DELHI: The fake pilot racket is fast assuming worrying proportions. On Friday, low cost carrier SpiceJet sacked two pilots — captain Anuj Kumar and first officer (co-pilot) Amit Mundra – for fudging their flying hours to get licence to fly from the DGCA. Apart from this, the aviation regulator is close on the heels of fifth commander who allegedly faked exam mark sheets to become a commander.
"Following investigations into the fake flying license issue, SpiceJet has terminated the services of the two pilots with immediate effect. The pilots have been accused of misrepresenting their flying hours in order to obtain their license from Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)... The airline is committed to provide a safe travel without ever compromising the safety of our esteemed customers," a SpiceJet statement said.
These are the first reported cases of fudged flying hours to get licences. From February-end, the DGCA has found four co-pilots (two of IndiGo; one each from MDLR and AI) who could not pass the airline transport pilot licence (ATPL) exam to get promoted as commander. They allegedly got fake mark sheets prepared and became commanders. Now a fifth such case has been detected but the con-mander's name and the airline is being kept in wraps to ensure he does not flee.
"Con-mander" - very catchy