AAIB getting govt cold shoulder
NEW DELHI: The ministry of civil aviation could be undermining the independence of its accident investigation unit, in a move that could impair the country’s ranking in air safety audits.
A downgrade could hit Indian airlines hard, preventing them from launching more flights to some countries, including the US.
The ministry recently constituted a committee headed by a senior official of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the aviation regulator, to examine the functioning of the aircraft accident investigation bureau (AAIB), a move that threatens to undermine the independence of the investigation body.
According to the ministry’s own rules, AAIB has primacy over DGCA in matters related to the investigation of accidents.
The DGCA’s committee, headed by Lalit Gupta, joint director general of the regulator, asked AAIB to provide details of the process of classification of air mishaps as accidents, incidents and serious incidents over the past two years.
While AAIB has provided the details — 20 serious incidents and 11 accidents — there is resentment in the bureau over what is being seen as interference by the regulator. The motive for the creation of the committee isn’t clear.
“There is no comment on the issue at my level,” said Usha Padhi, spokesperson at the ministry.
People familiar with the matter at the ministry said there is a feeling within the ministry that the bureau is under-equipped and understaffed to conduct accident investigations and that the DGCA should assist it till it acquires the requisite manpower and expertise.
AAIB was formed in 2012 after the International Civil Aviation Organisation raised concerns about how air accidents were investigated in India.
A DOWNGRADE COULD HIT INDIAN AIRLINES HARD, PREVENTING THEM FROM LAUNCHING MORE FLIGHTS TO SOME COUNTRIES, INCLUDING THE US.
On August 6 this year, the MoCA gave further teeth to the AAIB by making its classification of accidents binding on DGCA. ICAO had recommended separation between investigation and regulation bodies.
“DGCA is a regulator and it shouldn’t have any business in investigating serious air mishaps or interfering into investigator’s mandate. All developed countries have separated regulation from investigation to maintain fairness,” aviation expert Capt SS Panesar told HT.
Organisations such as ICAO and aviation authorities of other countries, such as the US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) are unlikely to view such interference positively.
In 2013, the FAA downgraded India’s safety ranking due to inadequacies, a move that prevented Indian airlines flying to that country from launching more flights and subjecting their existing flights to more scrutiny.
This is not the first time that an attempt has been made to undermine the AAIB. Sources in the ministry said that in at least two cases this year, the ministry ignored AAIB’s mandate.