NEW DELHI: The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) has urged the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to strictly enforce flight duty hours and implement fatigue management measures following the death of Captain Sunny Asladekar on September 11.
In a letter to DGCA Director General Captain C S Randhawa, FIP president, the pilots’ body called for a DGCA-led Fatigue Risk Management System (FRMS) oversight programme involving the regulator, airlines, pilots’ associations, sleep scientists and human factors experts.
The letter, also sent to the Civil Aviation Minister and Secretary and other senior officials, said at least six pilots had died while on duty or in work-related activities between November 2023 and September 2026.
The FIP clarified that no direct link between fatigue and the deaths had been established through any official investigation.
“However, the occurrence of multiple untimely pilot deaths among relatively young and medically certified flight crew warrants a comprehensive regulatory review of fatigue exposure, rostering practices, recovery opportunities, medical surveillance and FRMS effectiveness,” it said.
Randhawa said temporary exemptions from Flight Duty Time Limitations had become prolonged operational practices following the operational chaos involving IndiGo in December last year and the ongoing West Asia crisis.
“Temporary exemptions have become prolonged operational practices, potentially undermining the objectives of fatigue management,” the letter pointed out.
The FIP said international aviation experience showed that fatigue-related risks could not be controlled through prescriptive duty limits alone.
“Modern Safety systems require robust FRMS supported by scientific data collection, confidential reporting, trend analysis, biomathematical assessment andindepenent regulatory oversight,” the communication added.