Air India to invite CPL holders for Airbus as type-rated pilots flunk psychometric te
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Air India to invite CPL holders for Airbus as type-rated pilots flunk psychometric te
After rejecting nearly a fourth of its candidates — type-rated pilots certified to fly Airbus — invited for the ‘senior trainee pilot’ post on the grounds that they failed the psychometric test, Air India is now looking for holders of a commercial pilot licence, not specialising in a particular aircraft type, to fill the vacancies, a senior Air India official has told FE.
The airline, which has a mandate to hire 197 pilots for its Airbus fleet, had earlier invited only type-rated pilots for the vacancies. About 260 candidates made it to the first round of a simulator proficiency test, and 160 of them were chosen for an interview and psychometric test, the final hiring step. The carrier finally selected 78 pilots after they successfully completed the final round.
Type-rated pilots are those certified to fly a certain aircraft type, which requires training beyond the scope of the initial licence.
“The airline will now invite holders of commercial pilot licence (CPL) for the vacancies in its airbus fleet. It will begin advertisements for it by the beginning of next month,” the senior official said.
However, CPL holders who participate in the recruitment process will have to face a tougher interview schedule.
While the type-rated pilots had to complete a simulator proficiency assessment check (SPAC) and an interview that included a psychometric test, the CPL holders applying for the position will have to undergo four rounds of interviews and tests. This will include a proficiency test, psychometric test, aptitude test and finally an interview.
“The plan was to hire at least 10 commanders and fill the rest of the vacancies with type-rated pilots. However, we couldn’t get commanders to join us. Now we will give an opportunity to CPL holders to fill the required vacancies,” the senior official said.
The national carrier, one of the first in the world to include a psychometric test in the process of hiring pilots, is contemplating regular psychometric tests for existing pilots after the recent incident of a Germanwings co-pilot crashing his flight deliberately into the French Alps, killing all 150 on board. Air India currently has 1,464 pilots in its ranks while its fleet consists of about 110 aircraft.
“The regulator (DGCA) is currently framing guidelines to check the mental health of pilots so that incidents like Germanwings don’t occur in India. However, the airline is also considering the idea to frame its own rules, tests and guidelines if DGCA doesn’t come out with its guidelines quickly,” the official said.
Currently, pilots at commercial airlines are not under compulsion to take psychometric tests even though they have to undergo medical checks, which include complete examination of eye, ear, nose, throat, heart (ECG), every six months. A complete body check is also conducted for pilots every two years, which includes an ultrasound scan of all vital organs and a treadmill test.
“The mental health of pilots is extremely important to us. The recent incident has proved that we can’t take the matter lightly,” the senior official added.
Air India to invite CPL holders for Airbus as type-rated pilots flunk psychometric test | The Financial Express
The airline, which has a mandate to hire 197 pilots for its Airbus fleet, had earlier invited only type-rated pilots for the vacancies. About 260 candidates made it to the first round of a simulator proficiency test, and 160 of them were chosen for an interview and psychometric test, the final hiring step. The carrier finally selected 78 pilots after they successfully completed the final round.
Type-rated pilots are those certified to fly a certain aircraft type, which requires training beyond the scope of the initial licence.
“The airline will now invite holders of commercial pilot licence (CPL) for the vacancies in its airbus fleet. It will begin advertisements for it by the beginning of next month,” the senior official said.
However, CPL holders who participate in the recruitment process will have to face a tougher interview schedule.
While the type-rated pilots had to complete a simulator proficiency assessment check (SPAC) and an interview that included a psychometric test, the CPL holders applying for the position will have to undergo four rounds of interviews and tests. This will include a proficiency test, psychometric test, aptitude test and finally an interview.
“The plan was to hire at least 10 commanders and fill the rest of the vacancies with type-rated pilots. However, we couldn’t get commanders to join us. Now we will give an opportunity to CPL holders to fill the required vacancies,” the senior official said.
The national carrier, one of the first in the world to include a psychometric test in the process of hiring pilots, is contemplating regular psychometric tests for existing pilots after the recent incident of a Germanwings co-pilot crashing his flight deliberately into the French Alps, killing all 150 on board. Air India currently has 1,464 pilots in its ranks while its fleet consists of about 110 aircraft.
“The regulator (DGCA) is currently framing guidelines to check the mental health of pilots so that incidents like Germanwings don’t occur in India. However, the airline is also considering the idea to frame its own rules, tests and guidelines if DGCA doesn’t come out with its guidelines quickly,” the official said.
Currently, pilots at commercial airlines are not under compulsion to take psychometric tests even though they have to undergo medical checks, which include complete examination of eye, ear, nose, throat, heart (ECG), every six months. A complete body check is also conducted for pilots every two years, which includes an ultrasound scan of all vital organs and a treadmill test.
“The mental health of pilots is extremely important to us. The recent incident has proved that we can’t take the matter lightly,” the senior official added.
Air India to invite CPL holders for Airbus as type-rated pilots flunk psychometric test | The Financial Express
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Rejected pilots find Air India recruitment test flawed | The Indian Express
A day after Air India rejected 56 candidates out of the 160 pilots selected for recruitment interviews for flying A320 aircraft, a group of pilots, some of them from Mumbai, has alleged that the psychometric test that was the ground for their rejection was conducted in an improper manner.
Following the Germanwings flight crash, Air India had made psychometric tests mandatory for induction of pilots and cabin crew and had a psychologist from the Indian Air Force (IAF) to check mental fitness of candidates.
In February, the national carrier had advertised 197 posts of pilots for its A320 aircraft that mainly flies on domestic routes. According to the airline, around 260 candidates were called for the first round, the simulator test, and 160 were selected for the interviews, that was to be followed by hiring.
After the results, a group of the candidates, that included some from Mumbai, in a letter to Air India executives alleged that the psychometric tests were not conducted properly.
“A pilot cannot be judged in a psychometric test in a span of 10 minutes and, that too, via verbal communication. Without conducting a proper psychometric test, how can a doctor conclude that all the rejected candidates are mentally unfit? If that is the case, then can Air India explain how among the rejected candidates there are some who have been selected to pilot Go Air and Indigo Airlines,” said the letter.
The group pointed out that the candidates who did not make it had cleared the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) Class-1 Medicals, which includes electroencephalography (EEG).
“If we were mentally unstable, then why grant us medical certificate in the first place? Instead of a written test or a detailed questionnaire, the doctor just asked us random questions for 10 minutes and was scribbling notes the whole time, without inquiring about any medical condition or prior mental health history or checking our records,”a pilot said.
The group has requested Air India officials to re-evaluate the list and conduct a mandatory written test for all the 160 short-listed candidates, which will give a better insight into the candidate’s mental status rather than just one doctor making the evaluation, that too in a 10-minute verbal communication.
The airline, however, said that only those who cleared both tests were selected, as per the new policy.
“The tests were verbal and the doctor took notes. We are following FAA guidelines and got a psychologist from the Air Force. This is the first time that a psychologist from the Indian Air Force is being associated with the selection board. Candidates found suitable by the selection board, which includes the psychologist, and taking into account the marks obtained both in simulator proficiency assessment check and personal interview, they have been empanelled for the post merit-wise,” said an Air India spokesperson, in an email response.
A day after Air India rejected 56 candidates out of the 160 pilots selected for recruitment interviews for flying A320 aircraft, a group of pilots, some of them from Mumbai, has alleged that the psychometric test that was the ground for their rejection was conducted in an improper manner.
Following the Germanwings flight crash, Air India had made psychometric tests mandatory for induction of pilots and cabin crew and had a psychologist from the Indian Air Force (IAF) to check mental fitness of candidates.
In February, the national carrier had advertised 197 posts of pilots for its A320 aircraft that mainly flies on domestic routes. According to the airline, around 260 candidates were called for the first round, the simulator test, and 160 were selected for the interviews, that was to be followed by hiring.
After the results, a group of the candidates, that included some from Mumbai, in a letter to Air India executives alleged that the psychometric tests were not conducted properly.
“A pilot cannot be judged in a psychometric test in a span of 10 minutes and, that too, via verbal communication. Without conducting a proper psychometric test, how can a doctor conclude that all the rejected candidates are mentally unfit? If that is the case, then can Air India explain how among the rejected candidates there are some who have been selected to pilot Go Air and Indigo Airlines,” said the letter.
The group pointed out that the candidates who did not make it had cleared the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) Class-1 Medicals, which includes electroencephalography (EEG).
“If we were mentally unstable, then why grant us medical certificate in the first place? Instead of a written test or a detailed questionnaire, the doctor just asked us random questions for 10 minutes and was scribbling notes the whole time, without inquiring about any medical condition or prior mental health history or checking our records,”a pilot said.
The group has requested Air India officials to re-evaluate the list and conduct a mandatory written test for all the 160 short-listed candidates, which will give a better insight into the candidate’s mental status rather than just one doctor making the evaluation, that too in a 10-minute verbal communication.
The airline, however, said that only those who cleared both tests were selected, as per the new policy.
“The tests were verbal and the doctor took notes. We are following FAA guidelines and got a psychologist from the Air Force. This is the first time that a psychologist from the Indian Air Force is being associated with the selection board. Candidates found suitable by the selection board, which includes the psychologist, and taking into account the marks obtained both in simulator proficiency assessment check and personal interview, they have been empanelled for the post merit-wise,” said an Air India spokesperson, in an email response.
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Strange logic
Don't really get the logic here......type rated pilots flunked the psychological test, so CPL guys will get the opportunity to join AI (presumably to fill the spots left un-filled by the type rated guys who flunked?)
Are they assuming or implying that type rating causes psychological problems? Or is this the convoluted obtuse bureaucratic thinking one associates with, well, the bureaucracy?
Are they assuming or implying that type rating causes psychological problems? Or is this the convoluted obtuse bureaucratic thinking one associates with, well, the bureaucracy?
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You are making correlations that do not exist speagle1. CPL holders aren't being invited because "Type rating causes psychological problems" but just to have a bigger list of applicants and more options so that they can adequately fill the vacant positions in the company which as we know did not happen when only type-rated pilots were invited.
From the plethora of accusations and logical inconsistencies you choose - "CPL invited cuz Type rating causes psychological problems hurr durr bureaucracy blah blah".
From the plethora of accusations and logical inconsistencies you choose - "CPL invited cuz Type rating causes psychological problems hurr durr bureaucracy blah blah".
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Hey hey Hold your fire karbine, I'm all for CPL guys getting an opportunity. I was just trying to find the AI logic as brought out in the Financial Express article quoted above.
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You are making correlations that do not exist speagle1. CPL holders aren't being invited because "Type rating causes psychological problems" but just to have a bigger list of applicants and more options so that they can adequately fill the vacant positions in the company which as we know did not happen when only type-rated pilots were invited.
From the plethora of accusations and logical inconsistencies you choose - "CPL invited cuz Type rating causes psychological problems hurr durr bureaucracy blah blah".
From the plethora of accusations and logical inconsistencies you choose - "CPL invited cuz Type rating causes psychological problems hurr durr bureaucracy blah blah".
Of course if they have no more type rated guys, then they will have to look elsewhere. Then the geniuses who are in charge of all this can ask themselves if they really made thing s safer by placing a bunch of inexperienced guys in the aircraft actually made things safer when the reality is that India has never had an intentional crash due to suicide issues.
If the authorities actually believe that they have made things safer by rejecting a full 25% of experienced guys for what in in reality is a very unlikely case of a mentally unstable pilot, then perhaps those authorities themselves should be fired for stupidity and lack of common sense.
Taking numbers out of the air with no actual date to back me up except common sense, if the authorities had the intelligence to realize that there is perhaps on in 1,000 pilots that should be grounded for mental issues and 1 in 100 of those pilots was an actual suicidal threat, then I would say that they have credibility.
Get ready for psych tests and making sure an F/A is in the cockpit prior to leaving to check on something in an emergency to take priority over handling the emergency.
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Your logic is astounding. What you are saying is that because 25% failed, the exam's authenticity and methods are to be questioned?
Here is the latest result for Online Pilots Exam from the DGCA website for April 2015 - http://dgca.nic.in/result/Pilot_042015(withoral).pdf
You can search for Pass and Fail. You will get the total number of instances both terms if they occur in that document. Out of a total of 2601 entries, only 922 were Pass results. It is to be noted that we are not considering Absentees at all.
So here you have a Pass percentage of only 35%. 65% of the candidates that appeared for the exams failed. So will you now question the authenticity of the DGCA results?
The conclusion of which in your own words is- If the authorities actually believe that they have made things safer by rejecting a full 65% of experienced guys for what in reality is a very unlikely case of an illiterates, ignorants, unknowledgables, then perhaps those authorities themselves should be fired for stupidity and lack of common sense.
My point is that if people failed, then they failed. Try again next time or provide actual logical and meaningful accusations. Don't make it a fox calling the grapes sour scenario.
Here is the latest result for Online Pilots Exam from the DGCA website for April 2015 - http://dgca.nic.in/result/Pilot_042015(withoral).pdf
You can search for Pass and Fail. You will get the total number of instances both terms if they occur in that document. Out of a total of 2601 entries, only 922 were Pass results. It is to be noted that we are not considering Absentees at all.
So here you have a Pass percentage of only 35%. 65% of the candidates that appeared for the exams failed. So will you now question the authenticity of the DGCA results?
The conclusion of which in your own words is- If the authorities actually believe that they have made things safer by rejecting a full 65% of experienced guys for what in reality is a very unlikely case of an illiterates, ignorants, unknowledgables, then perhaps those authorities themselves should be fired for stupidity and lack of common sense.
My point is that if people failed, then they failed. Try again next time or provide actual logical and meaningful accusations. Don't make it a fox calling the grapes sour scenario.
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The point is moot because in the two months since the FE article, Airindia has NOT advertised for CPL guys.
Just goes to show that the media is singularly uninformed about what is really happening. Case in point.... they quote 'EEG is conducted on Indian pilots'. Firstly I haven't heard of EEG being a part of the list of medical tests for pilots in India and secondly, I have never heard that an EEG can predict suicidal tendencies in ANYONE, let alone pilots. Correct me if I am wrong.
Just goes to show that the media is singularly uninformed about what is really happening. Case in point.... they quote 'EEG is conducted on Indian pilots'. Firstly I haven't heard of EEG being a part of the list of medical tests for pilots in India and secondly, I have never heard that an EEG can predict suicidal tendencies in ANYONE, let alone pilots. Correct me if I am wrong.
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@speagle1
Things move slowly at AI since all approvals have to be approved by MoCA as well . It will take some time but AI should come out with a vacancy as they are short on pilots
As for EEG the DGCA did require an EEG as part of the initial Class 1 medical
However they stopped conducting the EEG test since November 2011
http://dgca.nic.in/public_notice/PN-EEG.pdf
Things move slowly at AI since all approvals have to be approved by MoCA as well . It will take some time but AI should come out with a vacancy as they are short on pilots
As for EEG the DGCA did require an EEG as part of the initial Class 1 medical
However they stopped conducting the EEG test since November 2011
http://dgca.nic.in/public_notice/PN-EEG.pdf
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Thank you for the clarification on EEG Cyril.
I'm trying to point out the out of context reporting by the media with regard to EEG. As you say, EEG stopped being part of the class 1 med since 2011, the Germanwings suicide happened in 2015 and and the two (brain mapping via EEG and detection of suicidal tendencies) are being linked in the article, something like 2+2=144! This is nothing but sensationalism.
I'm trying to point out the out of context reporting by the media with regard to EEG. As you say, EEG stopped being part of the class 1 med since 2011, the Germanwings suicide happened in 2015 and and the two (brain mapping via EEG and detection of suicidal tendencies) are being linked in the article, something like 2+2=144! This is nothing but sensationalism.
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Agree with jockey69 totally, though once inducted by the company, pilots do not have to undergo a psychometric test again, unless interviewed anew by a new employer for another airline.
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You got that absolutely right jockey. At one point they stop all salaries for months on end. Then when they finally do start, turns out it is after a 25% cut.
Imagine going to earn 0 from lakhs. The unbelievable amount of stress and depression involved. Especially for those pilots who have a family. Even more for those whose children are about to go to college. Instead of making pilots go though tests, rather they keep them happy and content. I am not asking the company to revere pilots as kings, but only that they understand and realise that more than 80% of the stress on their psyche right now is because of the Management of Air India and the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
Imagine going to earn 0 from lakhs. The unbelievable amount of stress and depression involved. Especially for those pilots who have a family. Even more for those whose children are about to go to college. Instead of making pilots go though tests, rather they keep them happy and content. I am not asking the company to revere pilots as kings, but only that they understand and realise that more than 80% of the stress on their psyche right now is because of the Management of Air India and the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
