Aviation regulator DGCA has suspended five pilots of southern India-based airline Air Pegasus for serious safety violations and has warned that the regional airline may be barred from flying new route
Aviation regulator DGCA has suspended five pilots of southern India-based airline Air Pegasus for serious safety violations and has warned that the regional airline may be barred from flying new routes unless the lapses are addressed at the earliest.
The airline’s safety head has also been removed from his post by the regulator and a “warning” has also been issued to the airline’s CMD. When contacted, a senior Air Pegasus official told news agencies that it has already addressed the issues raised by the regulator and also submitted a report in this regard.
The move comes at a time when the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is taking stringent action against airlines for any kind of violations that could put the safety of passengers in jeopardy.
A safety audit of the Bengaluru-based Air Pegasus, conducted in late April, showed serious safety violations by some of its flights, a senior DGCA official said on Friday.
It was noticed that some of its pilots violated norms as flights operated by them descended at a “higher rate” than prescribed under the standard operating procedure, he added.
This included a flight operated on Bengaluru-Thiruvanathapuram sector. In the case of that flight, the sheer length of the Thiruvanthapuram airport runway at 11,000 ft saved the day, otherwise the flight could have overshot the runway resulting in a disaster, sources indicated.
According to the official, five pilots of Air Pegasus have been suspended and its safety chief has been removed from the post.
“We have already taken corrective measures and submitted an action taken report to the DGCA”, Air Pegasus managing director Shyson Thomas, was quoted by news agencies, as saying.
