The back-to-back arrests of an IndiGo and an Air India pilot for forging mark sheets to become eligible for the job has prompted Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to order review of 4,000 licences, particularly those issued in the past one year.
Air India’s JK Verma was arrested by Delhi Police on Saturday for allegedly using a forged mark sheet to procure the mandatory airline transport pilot’s licence, while Parminder Kaur Gulati, 38, of IndiGo was suspended after a hard landing and arrested on March 8 for a similar offence.
“We have received complaints against two more pilots — Meenakshi Sehgal of IndiGo and Swaran Singh Talwar of MDLR [both are absconding],” commissioner of police (crime branch) Ashok Chand said on Monday.
“Gulati’s landing technique had some deficiencies. When I took a look at her record, it was a shock that she had obtained her licence on the basis of mark sheets which were not authenticated,” director general of civil aviation EK Bharat Bhushan said.
“Suspecting the same in some other records, DGCA undertook a detailed investigation. So far, there have been four cases and two have been apprehended,” he said.
The issue has come up even as the government searches for a replacement for Bhushan.
Not willing to take chances, particularly since DGCA issues all pilot licences and is in-charge of regulatory issues pertaining to aviation safety, efficiency, and continuity of air transport, including formulation of air law framework, the government released an advertisement last week making it mandatory for all aspirants to submit “integrity certificates” and statements of minor or major penalties imposed on them in the preceding decade.
All applications have to be submitted within 45 days of the release of the ad.
Apart from integrity certificates, the stress this time is on recruiting a professional. In the past, mostly bureaucrats have headed this critical office. As per the advertisement, an applicant should have about 12 years experience in aviation, flying, aircraft, engineering or airworthiness.
Of these, minimum five years should have been spent in administration and finance disciplines at senior management levels. Possibly, a lesson from the recent chief vigilance commissioner episode that caused the government major embarrassment?
