Becoming a pilot set to get tougher by the Indian DGCA

[cyrilroy21]

NEW DELHI: Unscrupulous students will soon find the "Munnabhai" way of becoming a pilot and threatening passenger lives closed for them.

Pilot aspirants would have to pass an entrance exam where their aptitude would be tested before being allowed to join a flying school. Also the number of times one can appear in the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) exams would be capped along with the introduction of biometric ways like iris scan to ensure that candidates don't send anyone else to appear for the exam in their place.

A government panel set up to examine reforms in DGCA's examination and licencing system has come out with very strict suggestions which, if implemented, promise to plug the massive loopholes exposed by the recent fake pilot scam. It begins with reforms from admission stage. At present anyone with money and physics and maths at Class XII level can join a flying school and buy his or her way to getting a commercial pilot licence.

"Considering that only candidates who have an aptitude for flying come into the profession, (the panel) recommends an entry level examination prior to giving admission. (This) should cover an aptitude and psychometric test," the report says. It suggests that the state-run Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Udaan Academy should identify an agency for this exam that would be conducted for the DGCA.

At present there is no restriction on the number of times a student can appear to clear the DGCA exams. But now it has been recommended to have a cap on the number of attempts. The government is now going to examine the records of students from school level from the moment they get admission card for exams. A number of cases have been detected where students wrongly claimed to have maths and physics at Class XII level.


Becoming a pilot set to get tougher - The Times of India (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Becoming-a-pilot-set-to-get-tougher/articleshow/9560673.cms)

[cyrilroy21]

Indian bureaucracy at its finest :ugh:

Anyone knows how this will affect those who convert their licenses ?

[ilsdme28]

this is not bad actually considering how many incompetent high school drop outs are sitting with cpl licenses.........
but then again we have a habit of criticizing everything especially when it comes down to dgca

[vserian]

I would welcome the idea of aptitude test and psychometric test

[niksmathew24]

Apt decision to prevent more frauds and fakes. :D
But what about the hundreds with fake licenses and qualifications? What are they going to do about the thousands who did it from Philippines(All logging and no flying) :( :confused:

[cyrilroy21]

I would welcome the idea of aptitude test and psychometric test

Yes it is a good idea . But the DGCA seems to think that it will prevent fake pilots from happening again .

I would prefer the aptitude testing and such be done by the airlines rather than the DGCA .

[cyrilroy21]

I have heard that some of the aptitude testing involves maths and physics taught in +2

For someone who finishes a 3 or 4 year degree wont remember any of those by the time they finish college or after some work experience .
That would be an additional burden

Psychometric testing or similar testing conducted by the airforce aka WOMBAT would be a better choice

[Johny Boy]

But the DGCA seems to think that it will prevent fake pilots from happening again .

Fake pilot's caught by DGCA are either those who got padded logbooks or forged marksheet's of DGCA exams.But many are still flying with fraud documents of basic education level along with those who paid CEO exam officer's to pass exams by changing of marks.

Do not know how this new rules or circulars will change a thing or not.....but it can put a break paddle on rush to become pilot but that mad rush has been almost done if not finished.


Vserian You got a PM......kindly check it.

[AmateurAviatorAlways]

this would be a nice move by the DGCA... :D

[thepotato232]

Am I missing something here, or does this just add another unnecessary hurdle for the people attempting to obtain DGCA licenses by legitimate means while doing nothing to address those faking their way around the whole process?

Of course, if anybody knows the skills and aptitude that make a great pilot, it's a mid-level bureaucrat writing tests for some feculent crevasse of the Indian government.

[nikhilheb]

Looks like a good move by DGCA!

[estranged soul]

Wow! So some dumb fu#k bureaucrats sitting in dingy Indian government offices are going to now assess if a candidate has the Aptitude to become a pilot !

Arent there enough Indians with common sense and bollocks to tell those clowns in DGCA that their sole function is that of a "REGULATOR", and not that of deciding who has the aptitude to become a pilot. ??

I had a good laugh after seeing that so called list of people in the "EXPERT COMMITTEE".

How come there's none in that "expert committee" from FAA, Transport Canada, CASA to get some valuable advice from countries that have solid, reliable and efficient systems in place ?

Instead of getting inputs and expert advice and recomendations from "SHRI, SHRIMAN, CAPT., HIS HIGHNESS " etc riff raffs !!?? :ugh:

If there's anything the Indian government is good at, it's in setting up committees.

Incredible India !! :D

[Stick_Rudder]

For someone who finishes a 3 or 4 year degree wont remember any of those by the time they finish college or after some work experience .
That would be an additional burden

I was thinking of the same thing. It just adds more to the various hardships faced by the honest ones.:ugh: Don't know what else is going to come in our way...