DGCA Suspends Akasa Air Pilot for Lapses

Mumbai, Jan 6 (PTI) Aviation watchdog DGCA has withdrawn the Line Training Captain approval given to an Akasa Air pilot for lapses in landing of a passenger aircraft in March 2024, till further orders, according to sources.

Besides, the permission given to the pilot for carrying Short Take Off and Landing (STOL) has been withdrawn.

This is the latest incident of Akasa Air coming under regulatory scanner for lapses.

In an order issued on Monday, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in an audit of Akasa Air conducted in October last year found that the pilot had made a hard landing, which means the aircraft had made an abnormal contact with the runway, the sources said.

The incident was closed with a counselling session and no corrective training was imparted to the pilot concerned, as per the order.

DGCA found that the replies by the airline and the pilot to its show cause notices, issued in November 2024, were not satisfactory.

As a result, the sources said DGCA has decided to withdraw the Line Training Captain (LTC) approval and STOL privileges of the pilot with immediate effect and till further orders.

Also, the pilot has been directed to undergo a minimum corrective training simulator session of two hours to cover stabilisation criteria and visual cues on short final such as flare and touchdown, missed approach, and hazards of cancelling go-around, among other aspects.

There was no immediate comment from Akasa Air.

Last month, DGCA ordered the suspension of director of operations and director of training at Akasa Air for six months for alleged lapses in pilots' training. The move also came against the backdrop of some pilots raising concerns about alleged training and safety issues at the airline even though it had rejected them as baseless and untrue.

In October, the aviation regulator had imposed a fine of Rs 30 lakh on Akasa Air for certain lapses in the training of crew.