DGCA advisory on ‘unstable landings’

Aviation security regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued a safety circular, persuading pilots to co-operate with air traffic control (ATC) officials.

ATC sources said that there have been instances wherein tower and radar controllers involved in a near-mishap were benched immediately but the pilots were spared.

“An ego hassle between a section of pilots and ATC is known because many air traffic managers were aspiring pilots,” said a senior ATC official .

The circular advised the pilots to avoid unstable landings. It said that runway overruns or skid-offs account for most air mishaps on ground. And, unstable approaches were one of the primary contributors for such mishaps.

DGCA chief BS Bhullar, however, said that the circular was not linked to any rise in unstable landings or mix-ups between pilots and ATC. “You keep improving regulations,” he said.

Apart from routine precautions for safe touchdowns the list advises pilots to be accommodative of the air traffic handlers. “Make request for operational requirements, not convenience. The earlier the ATC is informed, the easier it is accommodate any request,” read one of the points.

The safety checklist comes less than a week after DGCA began a probe into an alleged communication lapse between an Indigo flight crew and ATC officials at the Kolkata airport.

On January 18, a Dibrugarhbound Indigo flight from Delhi made a “precautionary stop” at the Kolkata airport after the pilots reported a snag mid-air. A “full emergency” was sounded.

The flight landed safely but Indigo officials said that its crew did not ask for emergency assistance. A statement issued by the airline claimed that officials of the Kolkata ATC had put out the alert on their own.