DGCA grounds plane of Badal-owned carrier April 13, 2014 New Delhi : The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had, on April 10, grounded an aircraft of Orbit Aviation Private Ltd, in which Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal is the largest shareholder. DGCA sources said an eight-seater Cessna 525A, registered as VT PSB, was grounded after a safety inspection. The pilots werent carrying proficiency and aviation security records. The pilots and the cabin crew were not trained in safety and emergency procedures. They were not aware of the minimum equipment list; there was no flight sector report and the operations manual was not updated, said a source. Aircraft are allowed to fly only when the operator meets all safety requirements mandated by the aviation regulator. Orbit Aviation has three aircraft - an eight-seater Cessna 525A, an eight-seater Super King Air B200 and a helicopter Bell 429. A senior Orbit Aviation executive confirmed the development, saying, We are in the process of meeting all requirements, after which we will reply to the DGCA. We expect to commence flying the aircraft soon. This is the second instance of the regulator grounding an aircraft for non-compliance with safety norms. On March 22, the DGCA had grounded a business jet owned by Reliance Commercial Dealers Ltd, as its safety equipment such as fire extinguisher and personal breathing devices had expired and the commander was without a flying licence (he was later suspended). The plane was allowed to fly a day later, after the safety requirements were met. The regulator also said an aircraft registered with Jindal Steel & Power had come under scrutiny on the same day. However, since there was no major violation, it wasnt grounded. To clamp down on frequent violations of safety norms by scheduled and non-scheduled operators, the DGCA has decided to step up surveillance and carry out safety inspections on 44 major non-scheduled operators that fly abroad, as well as two aircraft each of all scheduled domestic airlines, by June-end. On April 3, the DGCA has issued a directive to all airlines (scheduled carriers and charter companies), saying in case of such violations, penal action would be taken against them, too, not just the crew. To ensure safe operations during the election season, the DGCA had, on March 24, issued stringent safety guidelines and threatened to cancel air operators permits of business jets and helicopters that failed to conform to prescribed norms. The guidelines were reissued after the aviation regulator found discrepancy in the operations of some non-scheduled operators. Four days after the guidelines were issued, a Hawker 800 XP of SRC Aviation, which was to fly from Delhi to Colombo, wasnt allowed to take off for several hours, as the DGCA found several safety violations, including the absence of life jackets and the minimum equipment list. On the same day, the regulator also held up two flights---one of Larsen & Toubro and the other of Poonawalla Aviation company---, citing violation of safety norms. Sharmistha Mukherjee | Business Standard New Delhi April 13, 2014
Posted on: Sun, 13 Apr 2014 02:09:32 +0000
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