Drinking downs Air Deccan pilot

Airlines must put stronger safeguards in place if they are retain passengers' trust

BY A CORRESPONDENT
April 13, 2006

With the reckless development in Indian aviation, this was bound to happen sometime. A surprise DGCA check on airlines operating from Mumbai on Wednesday stumbled on several instances of safety violations among airlines. The most serious was that of an Air Deccan pilot from South America, who was found drunk before he was to take to the cockpit.

According to India's civil aviation requirements, pilots are not supposed to consume alcohol 12 hours before the commencement of the flight. The erring pilot was found to have consumed alcohol at night, though he was to take an Air Deccan flight to Kolkata with 200 on board early in the morning.

The surprise DGCA check was conducted from 3 AM to 8AM in the morning. A breathalyser check netted the pilot, who has now been suspended by Air Deccan. The DGCA check also found a GoAir pilot wearing T-shirt to work instead of his uniform. The pilot said he was provided only one set of uniform, which was in the laundry. He was let off with a warning. Several airlines were found to be flouting aviation norms, many of them minor ones.

The DGCA check and its results throw up questions on passenger safety. Are there no checks on the airlines, unless the DGCA team comes calling? Aren't airlines responsible enough to ensure that such breaches do not happen? It is the airlines' duty to put in place systems to ensure that such breaches do not happen again. One should not wait for the staff-stretched DGCA teams to come check them to find fault with them. The airlines may be low-cost or full-frills, but the life of people taking to sky trusting the airlines is priceless.