Do expat pilots increase crash risk?

Mumbai: The issue of expat pilots being hired by Indian air carriers has been brewing for some years now. Saturday’s crash has brought it into sharper focus with many aviation experts squarely putting the blame on the Serbian flight commander of the Z Glusicea (53).
The argument being put forth by them against foreign pilots manning the domestic flights is that they are not adequately familiar with the Indian airfields and weather.
“Their (expat pilots) accent has also been the cause of some of the airport mishaps and near misses. If you look at the history of bungling by the pilots at local airports, most of them have involved expat pilots,” said Bijoy Pandey, Air Marshal (retired).
Indian carriers have been importing pilots from Russia, the Czech Republic and East European countries to meet the shortfall of experienced pilots in the country. Lately, pilot unions and some aviation associations have raised their voice against this practice. They argue that today, India had enough experienced pilots available locally.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had intervened by issuing a directive to airlines to phase out expat pilots by July this year. This deadline, however, has been extended by another one year on request of airlines, who are on expansion mode due to the recent upswing in demand.
The latest data put out by the ministry of civil aviation reveals that around 600 expat pilots are employed by domestic airlines.
Air Marshal Pandey, who has trained many Indian IAF pilots, questioned skill levels of overseas pilots recruited by Indian carriers: “Most of them are rejects from their country. They come to India only because they are unemployed in their countries. They are brought on fancy salaries,”
23/05/10 Daily News & Analysis

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