dgca imposes fine of rs 90 lakh on air india training director suspended for six months

New Delhi. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has imposed a fine of Rs 90 lakh on Air India for operating a flight with unqualified crew members. The aviation regulator has also suspended the airline’s training director for six months. Apart from this, the regulator has also imposed a fine of Rs 6 lakh on Air India’s operations director Pankul Mathur and Rs 3 lakh on training director Manish Vasavada for this lapse. DGCA said in a statement on Friday that it has warned the concerned pilot not to repeat such an incident in future.

It said, “Air India Limited operated a flight led by a non-trained line captain with a non-line-release first officer. The regulator has termed this as a serious incident. This is a major safety lapse.” DGCA has imposed a fine of Rs 90 lakh on Air India, Rs 6 lakh on the director of operations and Rs 3 lakh on the director of training for the violation. Also, the director of training has been suspended for six months. After the incident came to light through a voluntary report submitted by the airline on July 10, the regulator conducted an investigation into the operations of the airline. This also included examination of documents etc.

The statement said, “Based on the investigation, prima facie it has been found that several officials and employees have violated the regulatory provisions, which could have had a significant impact on safety.” DGCA said that the commander of the aircraft and the officials of the airline were given an opportunity to explain their position through a show cause notice issued on July 22. The answers submitted by the concerned persons were not found satisfactory. Therefore, DGCA has initiated enforcement action in terms of the provisions of the existing rules / regulations and imposed the above penalty.

Disclaimer: Prabhasakshi has not edited this news. This news has been published from PTI-language feed.