DGCA fines Vistara Rs 10 lakh for letting improperly educated pilot land flight in Indore

India’s aviation security regulator DGCA penalised full-service airline Vistara for permitting an improperly educated pilot to make a touchdown at Indore airport. According to sources, the pilot made the touchdown with out being educated on a simulator first.

“Aircraft was landed by the first officer without the captain of the first officer being trained at the simulator. (This is) A serious violation endangering lives of the passengers onboard. Rs 10 lakh penalty has been levied on the airline for the said lapse. It was detected during a landing in Indore,” a prime official on the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) mentioned.

A coaching is carried out for the pilot to land the plane in a simulator earlier than they will do it on an plane with passengers onboard. “In the same way, a captain is also trained at simulator before he/she can give landing to the first officer,” the official mentioned.

The scheduled business flight was operated on August 9, 2021 from Delhi to Indore.

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A Vistara spokesperson mentioned that the incident pertains to a supervised take-off and touchdown (STOL), which was carried out on a flight to Indore in August 2021 “under the supervision of an experienced captain”. “The pilots were adequately trained and in possession of valid STOL certificates issued by their previous employer for which Vistara claimed the credit,” the spokesperson mentioned. Vistara is a 51:49 joint-venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines.

“Vistara voluntarily reported to regulatory authorities that the same training which was to be conducted again in line with regulatory requirements was missed, leading to the regrettable violation. Vistara always puts the safety of passengers and staff as its top priority,” she added.

According to the foundations detailed by the DGCA, a brand new employer has to conduct simulator coaching once more earlier than permitting a primary officer to conduct supervised touchdown of plane.