Govt plans new body to scan air mishap cases

New Delhi: The government may set up a separate body for investigating accidents in the aviation sector including plane crash. The move is aimed at unbiased investigation by disassociating the investigation agency from the technical regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The proposed body would also give its recommendations for improving safety in domestic skies.
“Currently, DGCA looks after all safety-related issues including accidents. But there is a need to have two separate bodies; one to certify air-worthiness of an aircraft and another to look into reasons for any mishap,” a senior official in the ministry of civil aviation said. As DGCA certifies the aircraft for airworthiness and also it investigates reasons for accidents, there are chances that the investigation would be biased, he added.
The ministry would like to follow a model adopted by the Railways. The Commission of Railway Safety (CRS), which conducts statutory inquiry into serious train accidents, functions under the ministry of civil aviation. It has been de-linked from the railway ministry to ensure independent and impartial investigation in accidents, he said.
20/09/07 Nirbhay Kumar/Economic Times

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Categories: Safety Sep 2007