Need for Revamp

The Directorate General Civil Aviation (DGCA) is responsible for implementing, controlling and supervising airworthiness standards, safety operations and crew training in India. Read through this article to have an overview of all aspects of DGCA operations regarding basic pilot, simulator and ground training and suggesting solutions to make flying training in India compatible with the best in the world.

A scam related to falsification of simulator training records in respect of pilots in Air India unearthed recently has brought the issue of training of pilots in India for civil aviation to the fore. The Directorate General Civil Aviation (DGCA) is the government regulatory body responsible for implementing, controlling and supervising airworthiness standards, safety operations and crew training in India. This article reviews all aspects of DGCA operations regarding basic pilot, simulator and ground training and suggests solutions to make flying training in India compatible with the best in the world.

In this connection, a high-powered committee was set up to review DGCA operations after the multiple scams involving issue of fake licences, doctored examination papers for special candidates, overlogging of flying hours, substandard flying/ground training standards and a host of other issues. A deeper look at the members of the committee shows that almost all members were of very senior level and representation of younger members actually involved in day to day flying training, was conspicuous by their absence. As such, major policy decisions were sound in theory but the recommendations lacked fundamental/practical aspects of the actual conduct of basic flying training which forms the backbone of flying skills, standards and operating procedures. The importance of flying and ground training policy cannot be over stated as this is the bedrock of all airline flight operations. After the Falklands War, when the British armed forces faced massive cuts, it was decided at the highest level to reduce expenditure on operational aspects but no cuts/savings were envisaged on flying training as the results would only be apparent after few years and by then, would be too late for corrective action.

Basic Flying Training

Basic flying training in India is conducted at the various flying schools and flying clubs set up in various parts of the country certified by the DGCA and run on commercial lines. On the face of it, this sounds fine, but a closer examination reveals that the system is seriously flawed and the final result is inadequately trained pilots being inducted into airlines. The shortcomings are mainly related to and directly concerned with the policy, planning, execution and monitoring by the DGCA. Some improvements have been made lately, but these do not address basic issues. Moreover, even these changes will not stand the test of time and sooner or later, are likely to be watered down to pre-existing levels.

Currently, there is no institution in the country which can train qualified flying instructors for civil aviation. Generally, newly trained pilots who do not get airline jobs opt to become flying instructors and are taught rudimentary skills at flying schools and later pick up skills along the way at the cost of pilots under training. The importance of highly skilled and motivated flying instructors cannot be overestimated, as even one badly trained instructor would produce a number of weak and under-skilled pilots. The results can be devastating. Moreover, there is no institution with a training programme for further training and categorisation to enhance their instructional ability and hone instructional techniques. As such, there is lack of a proper evaluation system for training, categorisation and standardisation of civil flying instructors. Instructors employed on simulators need to be also qualified and experienced flying instructors and not just plain airline pilots.

Ground Training

The situation with regard to ground instructors is similar. There is generally a lack of teaching skills, especially the use of computer-based training (CBT) systems and greater use of video and audio devices to enhance power point presentations. Once again, there is no grading system to enhance/upgrade their teaching skills. Syllabus for ground subjects is one of the weakest links in the chain. The present system is a mix of syllabi copied from various sources with no detailed lesson plans so essential for proper and standardised training. Basically, the subjects are a jumble of unrelated topics more to find out what a student does not know and not to impart knowledge. If one goes through the results of examinations conducted for the award of commercial pilot licence (CPL), the failure rate would stun an outsider. As one speeds down the list of roll numbers and marks scored, the word “fail” appears with such frequency that it is quite easy to spot a “pass” which seems to appear more as an aberration. The high failure rate does not imply that young pilots are lazy. In the US and the UK, the aviation regulator has a well-designed syllabus supported by a comprehensive ‘question bank’ for each subject, for example, the Gleon Question Bank. Questions for examinations are selected randomly with the help of software designed for the purpose.

In India, on the other hand, the syllabus is loosely defined and the list of reference books recommended by the DGCA is generally outdated as most of these are out of print. Also, subjects such as ‘navigation’ cover a host of unrelated topics that are irrelevant. It is little wonder that the pass percentage is only around five. Moreover, subjects such as ‘Flight Planning’ and ‘Operating Procedures’ are not included in the syllabus. There is undue confidentiality that surrounds question papers in the Indian system of examination. In the UK, a candidate can on payment obtain from the regulator, question papers of examinations held in the past, if he so wishes.