NEW DELHI: The Directorate-General for Civil Aviation (DGCA) fined Rs 10 lakh after a co-pilot landed a plane in Indore under the supervision of a captain who had not completed simulator training to become a first officer.
The regulator says this “serious breach (endangered) the lives of everyone on board” the Airbus A320, which was operating as UK 913 from Delhi to Indore on 9 August 2021.
“Vistara was fined for violating take-off and landing clearances given to First Officers without conducting training. First officer training is conducted to land aircraft in the simulator before they can do so on the aircraft with passengers on board. In the same way, a captain is also trained in the simulator before he can give the first officer the landing,” said a senior DGCA official.
However, the regulator found that in one instance a Vistara aircraft was landed by the first officer without either the captain or first officer being trained on the simulator. A serious violation that endangers the lives of passengers on board. A penalty of Rs 10 lakh was imposed on the airline for the said omission. It was spotted during a landing at Indore,” the official added.
In a statement, Vistara said: “A supervised take-off and landing (STOL) was conducted under the supervision of an experienced captain on a flight to Indore in August 2021. The pilots were appropriately trained and held valid STOL certificates issued by their previous employer, which Vistara claimed recognition for. Vistara voluntarily reported to regulators that it failed to complete the same training, which regulatory requirements required to be repeated, resulting in the regrettable breach. For Vistara, passenger and staff safety is always a top priority.”
The regulator says this “serious breach (endangered) the lives of everyone on board” the Airbus A320, which was operating as UK 913 from Delhi to Indore on 9 August 2021.
“Vistara was fined for violating take-off and landing clearances given to First Officers without conducting training. First officer training is conducted to land aircraft in the simulator before they can do so on the aircraft with passengers on board. In the same way, a captain is also trained in the simulator before he can give the first officer the landing,” said a senior DGCA official.
However, the regulator found that in one instance a Vistara aircraft was landed by the first officer without either the captain or first officer being trained on the simulator. A serious violation that endangers the lives of passengers on board. A penalty of Rs 10 lakh was imposed on the airline for the said omission. It was spotted during a landing at Indore,” the official added.
In a statement, Vistara said: “A supervised take-off and landing (STOL) was conducted under the supervision of an experienced captain on a flight to Indore in August 2021. The pilots were appropriately trained and held valid STOL certificates issued by their previous employer, which Vistara claimed recognition for. Vistara voluntarily reported to regulators that it failed to complete the same training, which regulatory requirements required to be repeated, resulting in the regrettable breach. For Vistara, passenger and staff safety is always a top priority.”
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