Aviation's Rig mantra

The aviation systems in the US and India project contrasting perspectives on safety. One believes in seeking the truth, providing lessons to prevent a recurrence, transparency and independence of aviation safety investigation and that safety of passengers is paramount. The other believes in divine grace, priority for commercial interests of airlines, stonewalling and procrastination.
Aviation safety is a potent subject in America while it is an impotent one in India. We are impotent because we have an ineffective hierarchy — Ministry, Legislators and Regulator controlling aviation. Here again, a comparison of the two systems will highlight the glaring difference.
On February 12, 2009, a Colgan Air turboprop flight crashed on approach to Buffalo International airport, killing all on board. The investigation findings threw up several issues concerning the training, experience levels of the crew and fatigue. Concerned with the findings, a law was brought in the US Congress on aviation safety. They have made it mandatory that the minimum experience levels for being in the cockpit of a passenger airliner is 1500 hours and the highest category of license, Airline Transport Pilots License.
In India, our requirements are a mere 200 hours for a copilot with the lowest category of license for commercial operation — the CPL (Commercial Pilots License ), and for an expatriate captain the experience levels have been specified as just 100 hours as a captain on the type of aircraft he is being contracted to fly! The legislators have not bothered to raise this as a safety issue but spend their time on trivial issues like their class of travel. Safety is not an important criteria.
In the US, the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are independent. When serious safety infringements are noted, the airline is reprimanded with a severe fine and warnings. The watchdog factor prevails, barring a few aberrations. The NTSB is totally independent and their focus is entirely on finding the real cause for the accident or incident and make recommendations to prevent a future occurrence. Their reports and findings are public knowledge. The time frame of the reports are almost immediate when the data is available. The investigations are total and transparent.
Contrast this with what we have in India. First we “deny”. Then we delay, dilute the findings with trivia and then, boast that we have one of the safest aviation systems in the world. There is no accountability or transparency.
29/11/09 Captain A. Ranganathan/The Hindu

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

Categories: Safety Nov 2009