Don't force pilots to work beyond duty hours: Assocham

The Aviation Ministry should refrain from forcing pilots to exceed the duty limit on flying hours to avoid air accidents, industry body Assocham has said.

The Aviation Ministry should refrain from forcing pilots to exceed the duty limit on flying hours to avoid air accidents, industry body Assocham has said.

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The chamber also said that inquiries in air accidents should be conducted in a fair and transparent manner by an independent agency, outside the administrative control of the Civil Aviation Ministry.

While the final report on the Mangalore air crash in May is yet to be made public, its cause has been linked to a possible human error due to pilot fatigue, which accounts for up to 78 per cent of such disasters.

"The ideal way out to avert possible and unforeseen air traffic casualties could be brought to an end by not rostering pilots beyond sunset and sunrise so as to help them shed away their fatigue and take on their subsequent assignments afresh to ensure safety," Assocham Secretary General D S Rawat said.

Rawat said that the issue of pilot fatigue on account of their sudden and unexpected rostering beyond Flying Duty Time Line (FDTL) has brought unprecedented criticism upon the national carrier and caused a lot of embarrassment, putting its credibility at stake.

"This needs to be urgently reviewed...to assure safety and smooth flight movement," Rawat added.