A commander and a co-pilot of GoAir have been summoned by the DGCA for reportedly allowing two people to fly in the cockpit from Leh to Jammu on Wednesday in violation of all aviation safety rules.
NEW DELHI: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has summoned a commander and a co-pilot of GoAir for reportedly allowing two people to fly in the cockpit from Leh to Jammu on Wednesday in violation of all aviation safety rules. The regulator will also examine if by doing so, the airline actually carried more people than the 180 passenger seats that its Airbus A-320s has. Sources claimed the two who travelled in the cockpit were senior army officials, including the toparmy official of Leh — general officer commanding Lt Gen Ravi Dastane.
This alleged violation of safety rules happened on GoAir's G8 151 on Wednesday. A passenger on the flight noticed two persons entering the aircraft and straightway going to the cockpit. "They remained in the cockpit for the entire duration of the flight to Jammu," the passenger said, adding that on being asked how two non-crew members were allowed inside the cockpit, the crew claimed it had DGCA's permission.
Later, DGCA chief Bharat Bhushan was informed about this lapse. "I got a complaint about people being allowed inside the cockpit of the flight. On checking, it was found to be true. I have called the two pilots and airline's the director (safety) to explain this," Bhushan said. The airline refused to comment on this issue.
During initial probe, the regulator has also found some discrepancies in the trim sheet (which has information on passengers) and is investigating if the plane had more passengers than GoAir's configuration of 180 seats in its A-320s with eight being business class and 172 in economy. The two pilots will not be allowed to fly till they explain what happened on the flight to the regulator. Entry inside cockpit is banned for non-crew members due to security reasons.
Meanwhile, aviation minister Ajit Singh has asked DGCA to analyse the current fares and see if airlines are over charging. The instructions came as current domestic airfares have shown a 30% hike due to the demand supply mismatch caused by reduction of capacity by Kingfisher and uncertainty surrounding Air India.
This alleged violation of safety rules happened on GoAir's G8 151 on Wednesday. A passenger on the flight noticed two persons entering the aircraft and straightway going to the cockpit. "They remained in the cockpit for the entire duration of the flight to Jammu," the passenger said, adding that on being asked how two non-crew members were allowed inside the cockpit, the crew claimed it had DGCA's permission.
Later, DGCA chief Bharat Bhushan was informed about this lapse. "I got a complaint about people being allowed inside the cockpit of the flight. On checking, it was found to be true. I have called the two pilots and airline's the director (safety) to explain this," Bhushan said. The airline refused to comment on this issue.
During initial probe, the regulator has also found some discrepancies in the trim sheet (which has information on passengers) and is investigating if the plane had more passengers than GoAir's configuration of 180 seats in its A-320s with eight being business class and 172 in economy. The two pilots will not be allowed to fly till they explain what happened on the flight to the regulator. Entry inside cockpit is banned for non-crew members due to security reasons.
Meanwhile, aviation minister Ajit Singh has asked DGCA to analyse the current fares and see if airlines are over charging. The instructions came as current domestic airfares have shown a 30% hike due to the demand supply mismatch caused by reduction of capacity by Kingfisher and uncertainty surrounding Air India.
