Pilots fail test for small planes, but get big ones to fly

NEW DELHI: Imagine a person found misfit to drive a small car being allowed to get behind the wheels of a big truck. If that sounds scary, hear this. The aviation safety regulator has found that some trainees who failed to become co-pilots or qualify as commanders on single-aisle Boeing 737 on Air India's budget arm AI Express were taken by the parent company to fulfil their dream on the widebody Boeing 777 that flies long-haul routes.

All the pilots so favoured were sent on deputation from AI to AI Express. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) made this startling discovery when it audited the low-cost carrier (LCC) last September. "The records revealed that (two) captains failed (in AI Express)... during Instructor evaluation of DGCA (and were) recommended 200 hours of flying before the next attempt. These two were taken for a direct command on the widebodied Boeing-777 aircraft," the report says.

There are more shockers. "A P-2 (co-pilot) who failed in two attempts has now been taken up as P-2 (co-pilot) on Boeing-777, subsequently to be trained as commander on that type." And this one's scarier: "A pilot had a history of problems during landings (in AI Express) which were not addressed properly in training... it subsequently (led to) an incident with six bounces in a landing. This captain has also been taken up for command on Boeing-777 (in AI)."

If you wonder how such favouritism that compromises safety was allowed, here's the answer. AI Express was set as an LCC in 2004 under a separate licence but has over the years become a training ground aspiring pilots. (Insiders allege senior AI employees have used AI Express to fast-track the career of their pilot children.)