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The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has begun a two month long special audit of airlines following its spot checks revealed that insufficient and unqualified engineering personnel are certifying carriers' planes before their departure, according to news agency PTI report.
Additionally, the two month long special audit will focus on availability of "sufficient, suitably qualified and experienced" manpower, duty time limitations, availability of current maintenance data for all types of aircraft, adequacy of aircraft turn-around time during transit and "multiple MEL releases," as per the order, which has been accessed by PTI. Notably, "MEL", which is the minimum equipment list, refers to an aircraft that is permitted to fly with certain inoperative equipment for a specific period of time, until the repairs are done, the report further stated.
This development comes in the wake of the DGCA conducting several spot checks earlier this month owing to reports of several instances in the country where flights were diverted citing safety as well as operational issues. The DGCA advised on July 18 that all aircraft at base and transit stations shall be released by certifying staff holding a licence with appropriate authorization by their organization, officials said.
According to news agency ANI report, the spot checks carried out by DGCA teams indicated the improper identification of the cause of a reported defect, increasing trend of minimum equipment list (MEL) releases and non-availability of required certifying staff to cater to multiple scheduled arrivals/ departures in a short interval.
The DGCA said, "it is also seen that airlines are resorting to frequent one-off authorisation to Category A certifying staff at transit stations which is not in line with existing regulatory provisions. Keeping the above in view, it has been decided that all aircraft at base and transit stations shall be released by certifying staff holding Aircraft Maintenance Engineering (AME) Category B1/B2 licence with appropriate authorization by their organization."
The DGCA further notified that, "the airlines are therefore advised to position certifying staff (AME Category B1/B2 licence) at all base and transit stations including the availability of required tools and equipment. Alternatively, you may opt for sending the certifying staff on flight duties. The compliance with the above shall be ensured by July 28, 2022, under intimation to their office."
(With inputs from PTI, ANI)