Fake pilots: Aviation regulator screens 3,000 licences

After the arrest of another Air India pilot on charges of furnishing a fake marksheet to procure a flying licence, Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) chief Bharat Bhushan said over 3,000 licences "issued in the last one year are under screening".

After the arrest of another Air India pilot on charges of furnishing a fake marksheet to procure a flying licence, Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) chief Bharat Bhushan said over 3,000 licences "issued in the last one year are under screening".

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"This has come to our notice after a pilot faced problems with landing techniques. We are probing into the matter with the help of Delhi Police as the matter is serious," Bhushan told Times Now TV channel.

Air India pilot J.K. Verma was arrested in the capital Saturday for allegedly using a forged marksheet to procure a licence from the country's aviation regulator.

It was the second such arrest in the last four days. The first pilot to be arrested was Parminder Kaur Gulati, 38, a suspended pilot of Indigo. Gulati was arrested for allegedly obtaining the mandatory Airline Transport Pilot's Licence (ALTP) using forged documents.

Bhushan admitted that over 3,000 licences were under the DGCA scanner.

"It is a problem of pilots submitting a fake marksheet. We will be taking into scrutiny all the pilot licences that have been issued in the last one year, nearly 3,000-4,000 licences," he added.