NEW DELHI: Aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has agreed to constitute a committee to revise medical parameters for pilots operating civilian aircraft in India.
According to the Airline Pilots Association of India (ALPA), the revised standards would be in line with the recommendations of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
This followed a grievance raised by the association that the mandatory medical evaluations done by the regulator’s empanelled medical centres were inconsistent with the international body’s recommendations.
An official release said the committee's approval was one of the key outcomes of a meeting between ALPA and the regulator at its head office in New Delhi on Monday (July 14).
ALPA, a Bengaluru-based organisation over two decades old, represents more than 1,000 Indian pilots working both in India and abroad.
Last week, the association had rejected the findings of the probe into the Ahmedabad plane crash by the Aircraft Accidents Investigation Bureau (AAIB) and lashed out at the bias toward pilot error.
As of now, the medical evaluations for civilian pilots are being carried out at the Institute of Aerospace Medicine in Bengaluru and the Air Force Central Medical Establishment of the Indian Air Force.
Captain Anil Rao, ALPA’s General Secretary, also pointed out that flight safety was compromised and pilot rights were violated due to extension of the flight duty timings. The Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) were misinterpreted by the airlines, he explained.
“The weekly rest provisions were misinterpreted, fatigue was being marked as sick leave and the FDTL extensions were beyond Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) rules. Early morning duties were rostered immediately after a pilot is on Sick Leave or Casual Leave,” he pointed out.
In connection with this, the DGCA has assured a meeting would be organised with the Flight Safety Department and other operators to ensure compliance of the CAR, the release said.
The association also said that pilots were receiving show case notices and penalties under Rule 67A for discrepancies in eGCA records (digital pilot logbook which is linked with DGCA platform).
“It is the operator’s responsibility to push duty and training data into the system and not the pilot’s responsibility,” the release pointed out.
It also called for abolition of unreasonable fines touching upto Rs 75,000 for late entry of the log book entries. The regulator has assured a review meeting in this connection with concerned authorities.
The association also requested that it be allowed to take on the role of a permanent invitee in all investigations related to pilots and an observer status in AAIB investigations.
