DGCA allows Air India to operate pilot training simulator
DGCA has reinstated approval for Air India's simulator facilities at Mumbai and Hyderabad.
This will allow the airline to restart training of pilots which was stopped after the regulator has suspended approval following an audit which found the airline wasn't adhering to standards of the regulator.
Air India operates two simulators. The Boeing pilots are trained in a facility in Mumbai while pilots operating the Airbus fleet are trained in Hyderabad.
Simulators are used to familiarize pilots with the plane's operational procedures and to prepare them for all situations by creating real world scenarios in the cockpit.
Sources said that the regulator had given a conditional approval to operate the simulators after the deficiencies were rectified.
«An internal audit will be conducted within the 30 day period, and after the review, the findings are to be shared with DGCA, » a DGCA official said.
During the audit which was done in the last week of August, the regulator found that the quality manual of simulators had expired and there was no quality control officer for the simulators. Then airline didn't have a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) regarding preventive maintenance checks of simulators.
Following that, the airline set up a commitee and submitted an SOP for preventive maintenance checks as well as a quality manual for simulators.
An Air India official confirmed it saying the approval was received after the airline was able to satisfy the regulator that it has addressed all deficiencies.
