NEW DELHI: The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has recommended that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) ensure trainee pilots at all Flying Training Organisations (FTOs) get sufficient practice in critical exercises and emergency procedures before being allowed to fly solo.
Releasing the report on its website, AAIB also asked the DGCA to ensure all FTOs devise a comprehensive training syllabus according to the category of Licence for standardisation.
The recommendation is part of the safety measures proposed in the AAIB’s final report on the 2024 Cessna aircraft accident at Guna aerodrome in Madhya Pradesh.
In a March 6 incident, a 21-year-old student pilot was flying solo from Dhana to Guna in a four-seater aircraft owned by Chimes Aviation Academy. The report detailed that at 9.12 am, the aircraft overran the runway edge and collided with a small tree 410 feet away from the edge, leaving the trainee with minor bruises. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.
In its safety recommendations, the report also said, “DGCA may suggest all the FTOS assess their runway characteristics and in case hostile terrain or steep slope beyond the runway end is present, they may be advised to take proactive actions to stop overrun.”
Elaborating on the probable cause of the accident, the report stated, “The accident occurred when a student pilot could not stop the aircraft within the runway and subsequently when a go-around was attempted, it overran and hit a tree at a steep slope resulting in damage to the aircraft.”
It said there were multiple contributing factors for the accident including the student’s lack of prior experience of short field take-off and landing, his late decision to initiate go around and no timely communication from the Air Traffic Control even after a very long flare.
Among other safety recommendations, the report also asked Sha-Shib Training Academy, which took care of Radio Telephony communication at the airstrip, to ensure that all its trainees can go ahead with a go-around whenever they notice the aircraft is high on approach and a possibility of overshoot arises. It mentioned, "The FTO must ensure that no aircraft touches down beyond half of the runway, where the negative slope adversely affects braking.”