Centre mulls more power to DGCA, new air safety board

Sweeping changes are in the air. The government is thinking of giving more powers to the directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) and setting up an independent safety board to investigate air accidents. The move comes after the Mangalore air crash on May 22 in which 158 persons were killed.

Civil aviation minister Praful Patel said on Thursday the independent safety board being thought of would be along the lines of America’s national transportation safety board (NTSB).

After addressing the first meeting of the civil aviation safety advisory council (Casac), set up within a week of the Mangalore crash, he said that if needed, the government would bring in “suitable legislation” to turn DGCA into a fully autonomous body with overriding authority in all regulatory matters. “I assure you they [DGCA] have the fullest autonomy and will continue to have it. We will try to bring in appropriate legislation if necessary to further strengthen and empower DGCA so that their autonomy is well respected.”

The government was thinking of setting up a separate body to probe accidents since it felt that the regulator (DGCA) should not be doing the job of investigating too, the minister said.

NTSB investigates all major accidents in the US, including air crashes or accidents at sea or on highways. It also helps other nations probe such accidents.
“We have had a tragic accident. We should not be now found lacking on any front. We will do everything necessary to ensure that aviation grows properly in the country. The expectations are very high as the sector is growing,” Patel said.

Thursday’s meeting came against the backdrop of directives to all carriers from DGCA asking pilots to refrain from forced soft landings or leaving the cockpit inadequately manned when an aircraft is airborne.

Drawing lessons from the recent crash, which occurred on a “table-top runway” located on a plateau, DGCA has decided to carry out a drive to inspect systems and facilities at 11 airports described as “critical”, Patel said, adding, “Critical does not mean unsafe. It reflects on the topography of the area where these airports exist.”

Sources said DGCA had sent 11 teams to these airports to inspect facilities, landing and navigational systems as well as runways and recommend steps for improvement. The “critical airports” are in Leh, Kullu, Shimla, Port Blair, Agartala, Lengpui, Calicut, Mangalore, Jammu, Patna and Latur. Patel said the reports of these teams were “expected to come [to DGCA] within a week”.

During Thursday’s meeting, DGCA gave a summary of its new guidelines on operations and airworthiness that can be used by aviation safety inspectors. A surveillance and enforcement division has been set up in DGCA for its annual surveillance programme. The agency conducted 4,327 surveillance activities in 2009 and plans another 4,788 this year.

The meeting was chaired by the director-general of civil aviation N Zaidi and attended by 28 members from aviation sub-sectors such as public sector and private airlines, flight operations and air worthiness. Representatives from the international civil aviation organisation, the US federal aviation authority, Boeing and Airbus also attended the meet.