Read this, DGCA

Seven years ago, TEHELKA had revealed the shocking state of pilot training in India (Captain Peril, 18 December 2004). The year-long investigation established that norms for obtaining a flying licence are so blatantly flouted that an unlimited number of flying hours can be logged entirely on paper, the theory exam can be passed and the stringent medical requirements cleared without the actual candidate appearing for them.
A team of TEHELKA reporters (Kumar Baadal, Aman Khanna) was able to obtain a student pilot’s licence (SPL) after clearing the medical check-up but without appearing for the requisite oral examination or the cockpit test. More shockingly, beginning the process that culminates in the commercial pilot’s licence (CPL), TEHELKA was able to log in 10 flying hours without ever getting off the ground.
The CPL entitles the licence holder to immediately begin flying as a co-pilot. The investigations also established that the verification procedures can easily be circumvented and the licence can be issued to just about anyone.
Flying clubs in the country lie at the heart of this scandal. The team met the chief flying instructor of the Northern India Flying Club (NIFC), Patiala, on 21 November 2003. For a bribe, Captain SS Kang was willing to get an SPL issued after an ‘oral’ test, log 10 non-existent flying hours and get the CPL issued without the requisite flying hours through his contacts in the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
19/03/11 Tehelka.com

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Mar 2011