India needs independent aviation safety board, DGCA overhaul: Aviation expert
New Delhi, Aug 9
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation requires a fundamental overhaul and India should establish an independent aviation safety board to strengthen air safety oversight, Federation of Indian Pilots founding president and former Air India pilot Minoo Wadia said on Sunday.
In an interview with IANS, Wadia said concerns over the structure and functioning of the aviation regulator are not new and have been repeatedly raised with the government over several decades.
He said the Federation of Indian Pilots had written to the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Civil Aviation on multiple occasions seeking reforms aimed at improving aviation safety.
"...We have written to the Prime Minister, to the Ministry, that there are two essential things which are required for safety on air. One is an independent safety board, and secondly, is total revamping of the office of the DGCA," he said.
"First of all, when you talk of the Federation of Indian Pilots, why did we form the Federation of Indian Pilots? Earlier in those days, when I came from the Air Force and joined Air India, there was not a single aviator in the whole office of the DGCA. The DGCA was only full of bureaucrats. So my question is, why are we blaming them? How do you expect them to understand about aviation if they're all bureaucrats?" Wadia told IANS.
He argued that aviation is a highly technical field and therefore requires regulators with deep technical knowledge and operational expertise.
While acknowledging that some changes have taken place over the years, Wadia said the overall structure and attitude of the DGCA have not evolved sufficiently to meet the growing demands of the aviation sector.
Addressing the turbulence experienced during the Phuket-Delhi flight, Wadia said turbulence is a routine occurrence in aviation and can arise from various weather conditions.
Severe turbulence is often associated with cumulonimbus cloud formations, while clear-air turbulence can occur even when no visible clouds are present.
"As far as the turbulence on the aircraft is concerned, anywhere you fly in the world, turbulence is a very common phenomenon. There are different types of turbulence. Most of the time, it's from the clouds, which are vertical, which I call nimbostratus clouds or cumulonimbus clouds," he stated.
— IANS
Reader Comments
As someone who flies IndiGo and Air India regularly, this is concerning. The fact that the regulator lacks technical expertise is scary. India's aviation sector is growing so fast, we need independent oversight like the FAA or EASA. Hope the government takes this seriously.
Minoo Wadia ji is absolutely right. My father was a Boeing engineer and always said the same thing - you need people who understand the machine to regulate it. Bureaucrats making safety rules is like a chef regulating a hospital. We've been lucky so far, but we can't rely on luck forever. 🙏
The turbulence explanation makes sense. I was on that Phuket-Delhi flight and it was terrifying. But knowing it's a common phenomenon and having pilots who understand weather patterns helps. Still, we need better infrastructure to detect clear air turbulence. Safety should never be compromised for cost.
It's 2024 and we still have bureaucrats regulating a highly technical field? The pilot community has been raising this for decades and it's disappointing that nothing has changed. An independent safety board is non-negotiable if we want to become a global aviation hub. Better late than never!
The core issue is that DGCA has become a posting ground for generalist bureaucrats. We need specialists who understand aviation deeply. The government should create a separate cadre for aviation regulators, similar to how we have specialized services for other sectors. Otherwise, we're just waiting for a major accident to happen.
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.