State body to redo pilots’ schedule for flight safety

In a crucial move to improve flight safety, a government committee reworking work schedules of pilots on Wednesday accepted a proposal demanding alteration in flying hours.

In a crucial move to improve flight safety, a government committee reworking work schedules of pilots on Wednesday accepted a proposal demanding alteration in flying hours.

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The proposal was submitted to the committee headed by Nasim Zaidi, chief of the directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA).

“The committee is examining all the aspects of the proposal,” said Zaidi.

Four pilot groups — The Indian Pilots Guild, Indian Commercial Pilot Association, Society for Welfare of Pilots (a Jet Airways’ pilot body) and Federation of Indian Pilots representing pilots across other airlines — put forth the proposal to the committee last month.

The committee will include some of suggestions made in proposal in its report to the government, said Captain Tauseef Mukadam, general secretary of the Indian Pilots’ Guild, a union formed by Air India pilots.

One of the key suggestions in the proposal is to regulate and determine flying hours for pilots, depending on the time of flight departures.

For instance, a pilot taking off during the night or early morning should have a nine-hour duty. However, if a pilot is flying during the daytime, he can fly up to 13 hours.

The aim of the suggestions is to minimise pilot error due to fatigue. Air safety experts say that about nine per cent of air mishaps across the world are related to pilot fatigue.

Earlier this year, two domestic flights narrowly missed collision due to pilot error, while one flight reached a wrong destination. In both the cases, unreasonable work schedules were found to cause the concentration lapse.

Even in Europe and USA, flight duty timings are being formulated on the basis of scientific research, which is in line with guidelines of the International Civil

Aviation Organization — the apex body for air safety in the world.