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Our Bureau

New Delhi , May 4

THE five-member Kaushik Committee, which was set up to review training procedures for helicopter pilots, has called for appointment of more helicopter flight instructors in the Directorate-General Civil Aviation (DGCA) to improve the proficiency and standards of operators in general and pilots in particular.

The report has also called for conducting safety audit of helicopter operators "at least once in two years" to ensure adherence to rules, regulations and practices. It has suggested that services of organisations like Rotary Wing Society of India may be obtained for the purpose.

Besides, it has suggested that institutions be established to conduct various types of training including ground and simulator training at regular intervals. "Large operators/institutions must come forward and create facilities for such training in the public/private sector," the report adds.

While calling for giving more night flying experience to pilots engaged in night operations like offshore or medical evacuation, the report terms the present requirement of five take-off and landing in the six-monthly period as being inadequate.

It has recommended that in addition to the existing requirement, one route-flying sortie by night in the preceding six months for pilots engaged in regular night operations be made mandatory. The report has also laid down specific recommendations for pilots flying in the hills and offshore and calls for introducing a co-pilot rating to ensure conduct of proficiency checks of pilots in the appropriate category.

In the recent past there have been a spate of helicopter crashes including the incidence that claimed the life of the then Lok Sabha Speaker G.M.C. Balayogi, and the recent copter crash that claimed the life of Haryana Minister Surender Singh, and leading industrialist O.P Jindal.

While there were five helicopter companies in 1991, today there are 54 operators with about 141 helicopters under various categories including private, non-scheduled and government/public sector.

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