AI pilot flouts landing norm, grounded

New Delhi: An Air India pilot landed in near-blinding haze at Bagdogra, using an external landing approach banned by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation for being unreliable and unsafe. Without reporting the incident to the authorities after landing, as is mandatory, the pilot took off in low visibility, risking at least 140 lives.
The airline tried to bury the incident by letting the pilot remain on roster without a probe. It told the DGCA it has “cautioned” the pilot. However, the DGCA ordered “immediate” grounding of the pilot on December 1 and sought a report from the carrier.
The incident occurred on November 16, when Captain Kamal Kant, operating a Delhi-Bagdogra early morning flight AI 879, landed at Bagdogra airport, a tricky airfield surrounded by mountains on north side, using Precision Approach Radar in low visibility, despite being reminded by the air traffic controller. The ATC asked the pilot if she has been cleared by the regulator to undertake this banned approach, airport sources told The Indian Express. This conversation was erased from the cockpit voice recorder — which records the last two hours — as Kant took off. She filed a “voluntary report” upon her return to Delhi.
22/12/11 Indian Express

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Categories: Air India Dec 2011, airports Dec 2011, Safety Dec 2011