Pilot who let son fly plane has quit

Soon after the aviation regulator clipped a senior Spicejet Airline pilot’s authority to test junior pilots on charges of a safety violation in November, he quit the job, said a spokesperson from the airline.

Soon after the aviation regulator clipped a senior Spicejet Airline pilot’s authority to test junior pilots on charges of a safety violation in November, he quit the job, said a spokesperson from the airline.

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The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had stopped Captain Sultan Singh, Spicejet’s general manager of training, from conducting tests on junior pilots.

He was found guilty of operating three flights in which his son, Captain Jorawar Singh, a fresh passout from a flying school, flew as the co-pilot without authorisation.

The violation took place during the operation of three flights in May__Delhi-Hyderabad, Delhi-Coimbatore and a Coimbatore-Delhi flight. According to the DGCA’s rule, a trainer pilot cannot hand over cockpit controls to a trainee pilot.

The airline spokesperson confirmed that Captain Singh resigned from service in November soon after he was grounded.

His son Captain Jorawar Singh continues to work with the airline because the probe gave him a clean chit.

The regulator had issued a stringent circular last month that stated that training captains could be grounded for five years if found compromising safety norms in favouring junior pilots.

The circular was issued because such cases of favourtism had become common.