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DGCA fines Air India ₹30 lakh, suspends pilot who brought his friend in cockpit
DGCA has suspended an Air India pilot’s licence for three months after he allowed his friend inside the cockpit in violation of safety norms earlier this year
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Friday suspended an Air India pilot’s licence for three months after he allowed his friend inside the cockpit in violation of safety norms earlier this year. It also imposed a fine of ₹30 lakh on Air India for “not effectively addressing” the incident.
The civil aviation regulator further directed Air India to take administrative action against the pilot in command’s friend, a woman airline staff who was “travelling as passenger”. Officials said that the woman last operated a flight in January and was not supposed to be on duty on the day of the incident.
HT had first reported about the breach on April 21, prompting DGCA to launch a probe into the matter.
“Air India has been fined Rs. Thirty lakhs for not promptly and effectively addressing the safety sensitive issue. The pilot license of the PIC has been suspended for a period of three months for misuse of his authority vested under the Aircraft Rules 1937 and allowing violation of the applicable DGCA regulations,” DGCA said in a statement.
“During the flight, the pilot in command of the flight allowed the entry into cockpit during cruise, of an Air India Staff on duty travelling as passenger, in violation of DGCA regulations,” it added.
Last month, DGCA had off-rostered the entire crew of Air India flight AI 915 Delhi to Dubai during which the pilot in command Captain Harsh Suri had invited his woman friend into the cockpit in violation of safety norms on February 27.
The development was a result of HT’s report that highlighted a complaint by the cabin supervisor on March 3. The complaint alleged that the captain wanted the crew to make sure the cockpit appeared welcoming before inviting his friend in, and asked that she be served food given in business class.
The complaint had also raised questions on the co-pilot who was taking “controlled” rest.
The airline, however, had not taken action, following which the complainant had approached DGCA. The civil aviation regulator had constituted a committee to probe the matter. It had also issued a show cause notice to Air India chief executive officer (CEO) Campbell Wilson and chief of flight safety Henry Donohoe last month for lapses in reporting the incident.
In its order on Friday, DGCA also warned the co-pilot for “not being assertive in preventing the violation”.
“.. CEO of Air India received a complaint in this regard from one of the operating crew members of the flight. However, the organisation did not take prompt corrective action despite this being a safety sensitive violation. Anticipating delayed response, the complainant approached the DGCA,” the regulator said.
DGCA directed Air India to take administrative action against the airline staff who was travelling as a passenger at the time of the incident. It also asked the airline to remove her from any managerial functions in the organisation for a specified period.
Reacting to DGCA’s order, an Air India spokesperson said: “We acknowledge and accept the DGCA’s ruling. However, we reject the assertion that no action was taken by Air India in response to the complaint. There were a number of allegations which needed to be worked through with due process and confidentiality, and which commenced immediately upon the complaint being lodged.”
This is the second instance when Air India has been fined an amount as high as ₹30 lakh. On January 20, the airline was fined for not acting on an incident in which an alleged drunk passenger urinated on a woman passenger on a New York-New Delhi Air India flight last year.
