“This is the fifth accident of your academy in the past six months, pertaining to engine failure or other maintenance issue,” said an order issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), after a training aircraft of the academy, on October 22, was forced to make an emergency landing in a field shortly after taking off from its centre at Baramati. “The DGCA will carry out an audit of the maintenance practices carried out by your organisation and proficiency checks of your instructors and designated examiners.”
The emergency landing was reported just three days after another incident involving the academy aircraft on October 19.
Redbird Aviation has bases in Baramati, Gulbarga, Lilalbari, Belgaum and Seoni in India, and one in Sri Lanka. The DGCA will conduct audits of other flight schools, said people aware of the matter. “These occurrences indicate gaps in maintenance and operational elements,” said a senior DGCA official.
Last year, DGCA suspended approval to one school, issued warning letters to two managers and suspended seven chief flight instructors for three months to one year. An assistant flying instructor and a student were suspended for three months.
The action against Redbird Flight Training Academy comes in the backdrop of a spate of accidents involving aircraft of flying schools. An audit was carried out to assess safety standards and check for deficiencies in operations, maintenance and training. Thirty of the 32 schools in the country have been inspected in the audit beginning March.
