Regulator wants better safety for VIP planes

New Delhi: State-run aircraft operators who fly VIPs will soon have to meet minimum safety standards such as having dedicated departments for engineering, operations and quality control, manned by technically competent staff, and pilots with minimum flying experience.
Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has drafted the new guidelines in the wake of Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy’s death last year in a helicopter crash, and hopes to implement them soon.
Experts said the move would have only limited impact as most VIPs fly on privately owned or chartered aircraft, which are not obliged to follow DGCA’s guidelines.
VIP flights carry the speaker of the Lok Sabha, the deputy chairperson of the Rajya Sabha, the chief justice of India, governors, chief ministers, Union and state-level cabinet ministers and dignitaries allocated the highest levels of security, according to DGCA.
Many non-scheduled, government-owned and private operators lack basic safety infrastructure, according to air safety experts and experienced pilots, as reported by Mint on 11 February.
The probe into Reddy’s helicopter crash found that Andhra Pradesh Aviation Corp. Ltd (APACL), which ran the air operations of the state government, did not follow many safety protocols.
The 140-page probe report blamed the “casual attitude of maintenance personnel” for the crash, and added that APACL’s senior management lacked “knowledge of aviation-related issues”.
19/04/10 Tarun Shukla/Live Mint

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

Categories: Safety Apr 2010