The Hindu Business Line : Is aviation safety taking a back seat?

With more outfits taking to the skies and existing airlines expanding operations, there is going to be a serious problem of infrastructure at airports. This can affect flight safety seriously. Unfortunately, little attention is being paid to this crucial aspect of the aviation sector.

Recently an Air Deccan aircraft was involved in a landing accident. It was damaged and some passengers were injured. By the definitions of the International Civil Aviation Organisation and the DGCA rule-books, any aircraft involved in an event where there is damage to its structure and injuries to the passengers is termed to have had an "accident". However, one of the top officials of the airline chose to refer to the event as "This is a minor incident which can happen to any airline and is among the most common problems encountered". This statement about sums up the attitude towards flight safety in India. The event was not an "incident" but an accident. It does not "happen to any airline" and is definitely not "the most common problems encountered".

The silent acceptance of this statement by the authorities makes one wonder if people are aware of the cost of an accident. Such apathy followed the landing accident involving an Air Sahara aircraft in Mumbai where the passengers had a miraculous escape.

The hull of that aircraft is still lying on the tarmac. There is one lying inside a special hangar at Goa and another at Ranchi! Maybe this was what prompted that official to make the statement that this is "among the most common problems encountered".

THE HIDDEN COSTS

When an accident happens, does it involve only the cost of the aircraft repairs? In most cases, when there is a hull loss, it is the total depreciated cost of the aircraft. But it is the hidden costs that can kill an airline.

Take this "minor incident" which resulted in the Bangalore airport being shut down for over four hours. Several flights were diverted or delayed; the schedules of hundreds of passengers were disrupted with no compensation for missed appointments or connections; crores of rupees went down the drain due to the additional fuel burnt to divert and fly back to Bangalore. Flights were cancelled due to expiry of flight crew duty-time limitations; insurance policies were declared null and void because of violations of rules and regulations; and several man-days were lost on law suits to recover these costs.

PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACT

Most important is the psychological impact on passengers who may be left wondering if their lives are in safe hands. And, the list goes on.

Can the aviation sector afford this? Everyday, newspapers report announcements of aircraft orders, start-up airlines and expansion of the existing ones. What everyone fails to address is the total lack of `trained' and qualified technical crew — pilots and engineers. Announcements are made about inducements to park aircraft overnight at secondary airfields. Is there enough manpower to cater to this requirement?

The Air Traffic Control is unable to manage even the current number of aircraft. Every additional aircraft going into Mumbai or Delhi means an additional 20-45 minutes delay for take-off and landing and an extra 1,000-3,000 kilo-litres of fuel burnt. Can the airlines and the country afford this enormous waste?

If the flights are diverted to secondary airfields, are there enough Air Traffic Controllers to man them? The new Mumbai airport will have new terminal buildings, parking bays and other cosmetic improvements. But there will be just a single runway and with the same disadvantages. There is a second runway, but it is unsafe for operation. Several international carriers have refused to operate on this runway. Things are not going to improve in 2010 when the improved airport becomes operational.

WHERE ARE THE PILOTS?

The total number of aircraft expected to be in India by 2010 would require 4,500 more captains. It takes four-five years to make a captain. Where are the airlines going to find the qualified captains?

Not from Africa or East European countries or South America, one hopes where they are available for low salaries. But their quality leaves much to be desired.

A few years back, an expat examiner of Air Sahara landed on the wrong runway at Kolkota. The runway was closed at that time and he was fortunate that there was no mishap.

The captain of the Air Sahara aircraft that crash landed at Mumbai last year was a foreigner.

The captain of the Air Deccan aircraft involved in the "minor incident" at Bangalore was again a foreigner. Aircraft can fly only if there are enough qualified captains and co-pilots.

A minimum number of qualified engineers and air traffic controllers is needed to maintain the aircraft and manage the traffic. This requirement can make or break the airline.

LESSONS FROM PAST

Memory is short, but looking back to the 1990s, East West Airlines, Damania Airlines, NEPC Airlines fell by the wayside leaving thousands of shareholders stranded. Similar could be the fate of the present players for want of qualified personnel.

The passenger load factor may be zooming but if flight safety takes a back seat, it will crash land as fast. The Indian aviation sector requires a safety agency similar to the National Transportation Safety Board in the US, independent of the Civil Aviation Ministry and DGCA control. The track record of the safety culture demands that.

(The author is an airline pilot with 19,000 hours experience and specialises in accident-prevention studies.)

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