Aviation India: Careers

Jammu: Safer Skies International Air Hostess Institute in affiliation with London College of Excellence (UK) has launched various courses in aviation industry in Jammu. The institute is offering 100 percent job placement assistance.
Addressing a press conference here today Managing Director SSIAHI Vishal Mahajan said the institution had introduced various courses including international certification in professional cabin crew services, certificate courses in customer care, travel and tourism, diploma in professional ground staff services, personality development and grooming courses and foreign languages courses like French, German.
Vishal said that the institute would be giving special introductory offer for students enrolled with the institution.
“The institute is also running various courses like BBA, MBA, BCA, MCA with student exchange programme whereby the student could study in India as well as in London,” he said.
29/03/08 GreaterKashmir.com

Mumbai: Investigation into the recent crash of VT-AC plane at Baramati near Pune was still on and it would take sometime before the final report would be submitted to the Civil Aviation Ministry.
"..We have come out with some preliminary findings but these are not conclusive," a Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) official told PTI in Mumbai on Saturday.
An aircraft operated by the Baramati-based Carver Aviation Academy had crashed into the Nira river near Baramati on March 14. However, the two-member crew had a miraculous escape.
When asked whether the crash was caused due to some 'non-standard behaviour' of the cabin crew as reported in a section of the media, the official termed it as "mere speculation."
29/03/08 Press Trust Of India/Hindustan Times

Gearing up to welcome the first cohort of cadets by the end of March, 2008, the Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) Flight Academy is rapidly gaining momentum, having already received its first aircraft and put in place operational faculty and staff.
In the run-up to its operational beginning, two Academy aircraft took to the skies recently, as four DAE University students - who won a familiarization flight as the prize for their research on environmental issues at the Dubai Air Show- completed their first light-plane experience. The aircraft will become their "classroom" once they enter the flight portion of their degree program.
Cadets with no previous experience in flight can acquire the knowledge and skills to become a first officer in only 12 to 14 months at the DAE Flight Academy. They will graduate with a Frozen Airline Transport Pilot License (ATPL) and two turbine type-ratings - qualifications that are in great demand from airlines in the region.
DAE Flight Academy's frozen Airline Transport Pilot License is approved by the General Civil Aviation Authority and recognized internationally. It also complies with the Joint Aviation Regulations (JARs) being adopted by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
Bob Johnson, Chief Executive Officer of DAE said: "The aerospace sector in the region is booming. New airlines are being launched; airlines are increasing their fleet size and network; privatization is on the rise; airports in the GCC as well as India are undergoing major expansion. All these factors indicate an elevated demand for qualified industry professionals."
26/03/08 ArabianBusiness.com (press release), United Arab Emirates

Following three fatal accidents in five months, Kemper Aviation, Lantana, Florida, on Tuesday permanently closed the portion of its flight school that catered to foreign students, a government agency announced.
Kemper largely served students from India, where it conducted a marketing campaign.
The company "voluntarily surrendered its pilot school certificate," the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. "The certificate is now void."
The FAA said the certificate permitted Kemper to train foreign students, a large part of its business. Akshay Mohan, co-owner of the company based at Palm Beach County Park airport west of Lantana, was not available for comment.
Technically, Kemper can continue teaching students to fly — as long as they are U.S. citizens, FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said.
That is because the company gave up what's called a Part 141 certificate, which specifically allowed it to train foreigners.
"They can still train [U.S. citizens] under another section of the federal aviation regulations, Part 61," she said.
Kemper had suspended flight school operations following the March 13 crash of one of its planes in Martin County, company officials said earlier. That accident killed Kemper's other co-owner, Jeffrey Rozelle, and three Florida Atlantic University researchers.
Even before that crash, the FAA had launched an investigation into Kemper because of two earlier fatal accidents: a training crash Oct. 27 that left two dead and a mid-air collision Dec. 8, killing two.
The investigation continues, despite Kemper's action Tuesday, the FAA said.
26/03/08 Ken Kaye/Sun-Sentinel/TCPalm, USA

New Delhi: New Zealand-based helicopter operator, Helipro, plans to tap the Indian market with its maiden launch, the Helipro Aviation Training Institute, in Mumbai or New Delhi. The company, which was present in India to attend the Airport and Airlines 2008 Expo, is expected to set the school up within six to eight months. Helipro also plans to partner with the Indian travel industry to explore new business prospects.
All the training that Helipro provides for its Indian students in New Zealand is as per the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) requirements. Piyush Bothra, International Representative & Coordinator, Helipro, says, “..Helipro Aviation Training has several pilot training programs, suited to all skills — from beginners to advanced pilots, who wish to acquire the skills necessary to suit the airlines’ professional requirements..”. The company is also looking at tie-ups with the Indian travel trade (airlines and Indian aviation training institutes) to set up the Helipro institute, in India.
According to Bothra, Helipro specialises in flight training, air charter, aerial survey, photography and filming, search and rescue, aerial fire fighting and live line maintenance.
Recognised by New Zealand Qualifications Authority as an approved Qualifications provider, Helipro holds an Airline Air Operator’s certificate, issued under New Zealand Civil Aviation Rules.
25/03/08 Kanika Mehta/TravelBizMonitor

Two weeks after the co-owner of Kemper Aviation and three Florida Atlantic University researchers died in a Martin County plane crash, the flight school voluntarily surrendered its certificate Tuesday, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
The March 13 crash was the third involving suburban Lantana-based Kemper since October; a total of eight people died in the crashes.
"The certificate was surrendered for cancellation, meaning that the certificate is now void, and that Kemper can no longer offer pilot training," an FAA statement said. "The FAA is continuing to review the results of its February 2008 inspection."
A call Tuesday to Kemper co-owner Akshay Mohan was not returned.
Federal investigators said Saturday in an initial report that the bird-watching flight appeared to be overloaded and flying too low and too slow when it crashed in a cow pasture near Indiantown.
This month, U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Delray Beach, and three other congressmen urged the FAA to ground Kemper, calling the lack of intervention "unconscionable."
In January, The Palm Beach Post outlined concerns raised by a half-dozen current and former flight instructors who said Kemper was a hazardous place to work and learn.
The March 13 crash was the fifth since September 2006 for Kemper. According to federal data, the school had the worst safety record of any of Florida's 66 schools for the past five years.
26/03/08 Eliot Kleinberg/Palm Beach Post, United States

Dubai Aerospace Enterprise University (DAE University), the education and training arm of Dubai Aerospace Enterprise, will conduct a series of knowledge sessions in the UAE to familarise students who are keen to pursue a career in the aviation and aerospace industry about its higher education and training options in aviation.
The roadshows, to be held in Ras Al Khaimah on March 23, Abu Dhabi on March 24, Dubai on March 25, Al Ain on March 26 and in Fujairah on March 27 follow a successful orientation campaign held for prospective students in selected centres in the Middle East, Hong Kong as well as 14 key Indian cities.
Knowledge sessions will also be held through the GCC. Apart from meeting DAE University representatives, participants can also interact with students currently enrolled with the institution for various programmes.
Dr George Ebbs, President, DAE University, added: 'The response to our roadshows in India and the region was overwhelming with more than 1,500 students registering interest in our programmes.
The UAE Knowledge Sessions will demonstrate how our tailored academic programmes can provide a high-level entry into promising career opportunities in the aviation sector'.
The knowledge sessions will also familiarize participants with the new DAE Flight Academy, scheduled to open shortly.
The DAE Flight Academy will deliver highly qualified first officer candidates in an accelerated programme of 12 to 14 months.
DAE University currently offers Bachelors programmes in the areas of Flight and Aviation Management and Business Administration - Aviation Business, The first batch of DAE University - comprising students from around the world - will graduate in 2011-12.
22/03/08 AME Info (press release), United Arab Emirates

Authorities on Saturday identified the two victims killed in Friday’s plane crash at Richard B. Russell Regional Airport.
Lokesh Venkat, 23, of India, was the student pilot flying the plane, and Kwang Yi, 34, of a Duluth address, was the instructor, said Floyd County Chief Deputy Coroner Tony Cooper.
Cooper said the two were pronounced dead at the scene at 4:45 p.m. Friday by Deputy Coroner Ernie Studard. Cooper said Venkat’s family has been contacted and plans to fly his body back to India.
National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration officials arrived at the scene to conduct a preliminary investigation into the crash.
“At this stage we’re looking for as much factual evidence as we can without making any conclusions,” said Luke Schiada, senior safety investigator of the eastern region of NTSB.
The twin engine, four-seat Beechcraft BE76 crashed Friday on the southern end of Richard B. Russell Regional Airport just west of Lake Geneva off Godfrey Road.
Scotty Hancock, Floyd County Emergency Management Agency director, confirmed a small amount of “contraband” was found inside the plane.
“We did find in the pilot’s personal belongings a suspicious substance,” said Cooper. “We have no confirmation that it was illicit.”
23/03/08 John Bailey/Rome News-Tribune, USA

Rome, Georgia, US: Two Atlanta-area residents were killed today when the twin engine plane crashed near Richard B. Russsell Regional Airport in Rome.
Deputy Coroner Ernie Studard confirmed the victims were two males, but said he could not release their names.
The FAA lists the plane as being registered to Aviation Atlanta in Chamblee. A witness said an instructor and a student were in the plane.
Chief Deputy Coroner Tony Cooper said the instructor was from Duluth and the student was from India. He said names probably won't be released until Saturday.
The plane went down near Godfrey Road, at the southern end of the airport, near a local pond.
Kathleen Bergen, public information officer for the Federal Aviation Administration in Atlanta, said the four-seat Beechcraft BE76, crashed on takeoff and burned.
Mike Mathews, manager of the Rome airport, said the plane is based out of Peachtree DeKalb Airport. He said he saw the plane fall shortly after it took off.
“I saw them nose down and try to come back to the runway and it came straight down into the trees,” he said.
He said planes often come to Rome from Atlanta for training because it’s easier to make approaches and not so busy.
The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration will be on the scene Saturday, and the Floyd County Police Department will secure the scene overnight.
Local pilot Howie Lowden, who is also a member of the Floyd County Airport Commission, said the Beechcraft Duchess is an inexpensive plane to fly, and is commonly used to teach pilots, he said.
Andrew Mallis, a local helicopter pilot, said he flew over the wreckage before the fire department arrived. He said there were visible flames and people were working to douse them. He said by 5:30 p.m. the fire was nearly out. The plane did not hit any homes near the airport.
21/03/08 Calhoun Times, United States

Palm Beach County: Kemper Aviation has suspended operation of its flight school after a series of fatal air crashes, including one that killed all four on board a small plane last week.
Akshay Mohan, co-owner of the company, on Friday said the school ceased operations on March 13, the same day as the accident that killed Jeffrey Rozelle, Kemper's other owner, as well as two Florida Atlantic University students and a bird expert.
Mohan would give no details other than to say the flight school, based at Palm Beach County Park airport, west of Lantana, is now "non-operational."
On Friday, a sign at Kemper's entrance said the school was closed, although the doors were unlocked. About five people in a reception area, who declined to be identified, said the school's planes have not flown for about a week.
Even before last week's crash, Kemper was under Federal Aviation Administration scrutiny, the result of two other fatal accidents since October. The FAA, in turn, has been under pressure by two area congressmen to complete its investigation and take quick action.
Whether the school notified the FAA that it had already ceased operations was unclear on Friday, as FAA spokesman Warren Woodberry said he didn't know if that was the case.
Regardless, he added, "Everything is still under investigation."
Following the latest accident, U.S. Reps. Ron Klein, D-Boca Raton, and Robert Wexler, D-Delray Beach, criticized the FAA, saying the agency should have taken action against Kemper sooner.
22/03/08 Ken Kaye, Patty Pensa And Jerome Burdi/South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Florida, USA

Kemper: The crash landing that was inevitable:

• Congressmen call on FAA to act against flight training school
• Kemper Aviation owner defended safety of planes
• US air crash: Spotlight on Indian trainees
• Flight school plane crashes in Martin County; School owner and three others die
• Fatal crashes, close calls cast pall over flight school
• Indian student pilot, Swedish flight instructor die in Florida crash
• Pilots were 'in a panic situation' before crashing west of Boynton Beach
• Student pilot in Saturday's crash hoped to fly in India
• Indian student's death: Faulty fuel filter suspected in US plane crash
• Another Indian pilot student die in US crash
• Planes collided over Everglades: Indian student pilots body still missing
• Family grieves for lost son half a world away
• “The door of a plane came off once while he was learning to fly”

New Delhi: Canada-based Winnipeg Aviation (WAI) is planning to set up a pilot training academy in Maharashtra at an investment of $10-15 million (Rs 40-60 crore) by the end of this year. WAI will be the first in the country to operate out of a dedicated greenfield airport and is looking to have an annual intake of 40 students till the end of first phase. WAI managing director (India and Far East), Hemant Shah told ET: “We shall be investing $3-4 million in the first phase that will go into developing infrastructure like hangers, airstrip and aprons at the airport to start flight training operations. Feasibility study has been completed and we are awaiting clearances from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to start the facility.”
Winnipeg Academy has already churned out 55 Indian students from Canada. For the Indian operations, WAI will initially cater to the private jet segment. Besides training, students will have the option to undertake avionics and engineering courses after.
The government, in its new civil aviation policy approved in January this year, had allowed up to 100% foreign direct investment for flying training institutes.
20/03/08 Chanchal Pal Chauhan/Economic Times

Two aviation students yesterday walked away after their plane flipped and landed upside down on an area of runway ploughed for resowing at Omaka Aerodrome near Blenheim.
The Indian students on board the Cessna 150 were shaken but uninjured in the crash which happened just after 3pm.
Marlborough Aero Club secretary Ginetta Pali said the plane nosedived into the ground and flipped over.
"We rushed out and fortunately they were OK," she said. That area of the grass runway had been disc-ploughed for resowing and was marked, she said. "They were supposed to land next to it."
Associated Aviation business manager John Read said the woman student pilot, who had her private pilot's licence, was on a cross-country training flight from Paraparaumu to Omaka.
The pilot and her passenger, who was also a student at the flying school, were from India. There were more than 200 Indian students learning to fly in New Zealand, he said. The plane had not nose-dived and it was a minor incident. The flying school had not had any other incidents since it had been purchased in May 2005, said Read.
19/03/08 Marlborough Express, New Zealand

Daytona Beach: In a sharp turnaround, the American airline industry has gone from cutting thousands of jobs after Sept. 11 to scrambling for pilots -- a problem that might seem pretty good from the perspective of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
To Peter Morton, director of special projects at the university's College of Aviation, solving the shortage is as formidable as taking on world
Educators, airline executives and airplane manufacturers are converging this week on Embry-Riddle for the 2008 National Training Aircraft Symposium held through Thursday (March 20). The theme of the annual event is "Managing Collegiate Flight Training to Preserve the Pilot Supply Pipeline."
Tim Brady, dean of the college, said Embry-Riddle had invited employers of pilots to talk about the best way for education programs to stay effective, provide students with a career head start and satisfy employers' needs for pilots and crew.
The international pilot shortage that Embry-Riddle and its guests are grappling with is the result of three factors:
· Extraordinary air traffic growth in the Persian Gulf, China and India;
· The rise of lucrative low-cost carriers in Europe and Asia, and;
· The sustained recovery of the U.S. airlines.
One full day of the Embry-Riddle symposium will be devoted to the issue of supplying pilots in an expanding and diverse global industry.
Speakers at the conference also will discuss the best ways to train pilots on the latest aircraft, and manufacturers will demonstrate airplanes, avionics and training innovations.
Thursday's (March 20) programme:

• Developing and Preserving the Pilot Supply Pipeline: A Dialog between Institutions and Employers
• Panel 5: Aligning academics, flight, and industry: report on best practices, industry bridge programs, pilot supply mitigation.
• Plenary discussions on best practices and assignments.
• Exhibits and demonstrations.
• Participants and exhibitors interact, side meetings, flight demonstrations.
  

18/03/08 Melissa Griggs/Daytona Beach News Journal Online.com, USA

Hyderabad: Salva Sidiqui is on a journey she can barely believe. Since last March, Salva has been training to be a commercial pilot, the only Muslim in a class of 30. These are youngsters hoping to plug the short supply of qualified Indian flyers that the booming airline industry faces, its rapid growth forcing it to import pilots.
Salva cuts a rare sight, her 5’ 2” frame clad in a starched, buttoned-down, full-sleeved white shirt with black and gold lapels, teamed with natty black trousers — and her bespectacled face framed by the soft folds of a hijab. Her ensemble reflects the changing world inhabited by the city’s young Muslims, citizens of a new Hyderabad with their roots firmly in the Old City.
The 19-year-old is the first person in her family to complete school — her father Syed, now a delivery man with a bakery, dropped out of school, and her mother Syeda was never allowed to study.
In 2006, Salva’s life took a turn when a local scholarship body, energised by the bright junior college student’s ambition, offered to fund the prohibitively expensive flying course.
Today, more Indians than ever before can afford a flight. Salva’s family isn’t there, yet. The only time Syed took a flight was a decade ago, when he joined South India’s great faceless migration of labour to West Asia, to work in a Jeddah hotel.
Salva can’t stop marvelling at the “different” road her life has taken, including the long hours of study — “navigation, air traffic regulations, aeronautical maps, weather, instruments in the cockpit... the exams are hard work, and you have to score 75 per cent to pass!” she says happily.
Twenty hours into the mandatory 200 flying hours she must clock to qualify, and the teen still cannot get over that first high: “Each time I am up in the skies, the world looks so beautiful. It’s like there is just me and my aircraft.”
17/03/08 Chitrangada Choudhury/Hindustan Times

New Delhi: A majority of the 134 foreign co-pilots working with Indian carriers could soon be packing their bags and returning home from June onwards.
In the strongest message to desi carriers to protect interests of hundreds of young Indian students who have spent lakhs to become a pilot and now find it hard to get a job, the government has attached conditions for airlines wishing to hire new foreign co-pilot or extend the service of those on their rolls.
These pilots have foreign licences and need an Indian validation from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to work here.
Now airlines will have to give a induction and training plan for desi commercial pilot licence (CPL) holders for an Indian validation or extension of the same. Failing to do so, will mean sending them back. According to highly placed sources, some Indian carriers hire Indian CPL holders but don't provide them further training to get type-rating to fly an A-320 or Boeing 737 for long times. The reason: a weak Dollar has made it cheaper to hire trained co-pilots from abroad.
DGCA chief Kanu Gohain has now linked the extension of expat co-pilots' foreign licence Indian validation (a must to work here) to their employer airline giving a training programme for desi CPL holders.
16/03/08 Times of India

Jeff Roberts, Group President, Innovation and Civil Training & Services, CAE, doesn’t get much time to fly aeroplanes. But flying still remains his first love, and it was to ensure that more Indian pilots get world-class training that he was recently in the Capital. “We have just concluded an agreement with the Government of India to provide pilot training in the two national flight academies — Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Udan Akademi (IGRUA) and the Rajiv Gandhi National Flying Training Institute (RGNFTI). Starting with 200 students at each of the institutes in the first year, we expect the intake to go up to 1,000 students in the coming years,” says Jeff Roberts, group president, innovation and civil training & services, CAE.
CAE will transform both schools into centres of excellence for India, leading the Indian market in the delivery of a complete range of high-quality aviation training programmes. “These two academies, together with our upcoming training centre in Bangalore , will help address the urgent need for pilots throughout the region.”
With both IGRUA and RGNFTI becoming members of the CAE Global Academy, Roberts sees CAE’s activities in India growing.
His Canada-based company is a world leader in providing simulation and modelling technologies and integrated training solutions for the civil aviation industry and has been supplying the Indian aviation industry with training solutions.
15/03/08 Banasree Purkayastha/Financial Express

Lantana, Fla.: A pair of South Florida congressmen are urging the Federal Aviation Administration to take immediate action against a flight school that has been involved in three fatal crashes since October.
U.S. Reps. Ron Klein, D-Boca Raton, and Robert Wexler, D-Delray Beach, said they wanted the FAA to prioritize its review of Kemper Aviation of Lantana.
Their call for action came a day after four people, including Kemper Aviation's owner, were killed in a crash near West Palm Beach, and less than six months after two other fatal crashes involving Kemper-owned planes.
Eight people have died in the crashes.
"On its face, with all these accidents, common sense would tell you this company has some problems and something is wrong," Klein said.
Wexler said the string of accidents sounded "preventable."
The FAA is already scrutinizing Kemper's maintenance records and operating procedures, and said there is no timeline for finishing its review.
"We can't determine if any enforcement action is necessary until that inspection has been completed," FAA spokesman Warren Woodberry said. He said the agency can impose penalties ranging from warnings and stiff fines to a complete shutdown of the flight school.
The National Transportation Safety Board is also investigating the crashes.
15/03/08 The Associated Press/Florida Times-Union, USA

Nagpur:The state government on Friday told the Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court that it is ready to inaugurate erstwhile Nagpur Flying Club (NFC) formally and is waiting for green signal from the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
The British-era flying club was lying defunct for over 14 years due to government apathy. However, due to efforts of some old club members and regular monitoring of the court the club would shortly see the light of a new day after a long hiatus.
A special division bench comprising Justices Kishor Rohee and justice S R Dongaonkar directed DGCA to provide the requisite permission within four weeks.
In an affidavit the government informed that it had already appointed Captain Mugi Dhanraj as chief flying instructor (CFI) and made two aircraft ready so that operations can be started at the earliest.
The proposal of Capt Dhanraj’s appointment was forwarded to the DGCA for approval.
“As soon as DGCA, New Delhi, gives approval for CFI’s appointment and grant us operational permission the process of induction of trainee pilots will be started as per Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR),” the affidavit stated.
The affidavit also mentioned that proposals for securing ‘Certificate of air-worthiness’ for remaining Cessna aircraft — 152VT-EUL and 152VT-EUK - were sent to senior air-worthiness officer of DGCA Bhopal on February 27.
15/03/08 Vaibhav Ganjapure/Times of India

Pune: An aircraft operated by the Baramati-based Carver Aviation Academy crashed into the Nira river flowing between Mekhali and Gokali villages on the Baramati – Phaltan border around 11.50 am of Friday. Flying instructor Lokesh Parsotya and trainee Akansha Kashyap escaped with minor injuries.
The aircraft was pulled out of the river in the evening using a crane. The aviation ministry was informed about the incident.
The aircraft crashed after it bumped into an overhead electric wire. Local residents rushed to the spot and rescued Parsotya and Kashyap from the accident site. The two were admitted to a private hospital.
Meanwhile, a police team led by Deputy Superintendent of Police Shrikant Paropkari and fire brigade rushed to the spot. “The injuries are not serious. The aircraft has been salvaged from the river,” Paropkari said.
Earlier, in an investigative report in the first week of February, The Indian Express had highlighted the irregularities in the manner in which flight-test certificates were being issued to aspiring pilots by the Carver Aviation Academy.
14/03/08 ExpressIndia.com

Mumbai: Three American researchers and Capt Jeff Rozelle, one of the partners of Florida's Kemper Aviation, died in an air crash on Thursday.
About 70 Indian students are learning to fly in this US institution which has been dogged by frequent crashes, many of them fatal.
The tragedy has raised serious questions about the safety standards followed by the academy.
But what is even more shocking, say students, is the case of the missing chief flight instructor (CFI) at the academy. The CFI is entrusted with the responsibility of overseeing day-to-day flight operations to ensure safety but the Kemper CFI, Capt Akshay Mohan, has been here in India for quite some time.
The Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in India does not allow a flying school to function for even a single day without a CFI. More than 60%of the flying schools in India have shut down because of a dearth of CFIs.
Mohan, who has been signing and authenticating the flying training log books of students to date, has also been working as a pilot with Kingfisher Airlines.
"The CFI is entrusted with critical decisions like whether a student is ready to fly solo and whether a student can be sent to fly in a particular weather condition. In fact, in the event of engine failure, the student is supposed to contact the CFI for instructions for an emergency landing," a DGCA official said.
Kingfisher Airlines confirmed that Capt Mohan had joined the airline in September 2007. "He told us then that he was the CFI of Kemper Aviation but added that he had resigned from the post to take up the airline job," an airline spokesperson said.
But the Kemper Aviation website, which is updated, says: "Akshay is the general manager and chief flight instructor who is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the business."
(The content of this page at the Kemper site is altered, it seems. To read the old page with the above details, here is the Google's cache of the page retrieved on 29 Feb 2008 17:36:31 GMT. - Editor, Av India).
Capt Mohan has also been in frequent contact with students through e-mails, sending them instructions and orders. TOI has copies of e-mails sent to the students by Capt Mohan on February 2, February 23 and February 27.
The February 27 e-mail, which is the only one he has not signed but comes from the same address, orders students to deposit between $1500 and $2000 by March 3 in a new "security" account. "You will not have access to this account, nor will you be able to use this money any sooner than your multi-engine training. The rest of the money will be refunded upon your return to India," the e-mail says.
"This is one of the many tactics they are using to stop students from moving out of the institute. We just hope that, with Thursday's crash, the FAA closes this institute and orders Capt Mohan to refund our balance fees," a student said.
Capt Mohan could not be contacted despite repeated attempts. Kingfisher Airlines sources said that he had flown to US on Thursday night and had apparently applied for a month's leave. There was no formal reply from the FAA but a senior FAA official said they had the power to revoke certification on an emergency basis.
15/03/08 Times of India

West Palm Beach, Florida: A flight school owner who defended his business despite its poor safety record died along with three Florida Atlantic University researchers today in a single-engine plane crash in western Martin County.
The Cessna he piloted slammed into a pasture and landed belly-up, calling the future of his troubled school into question.
Flying the 1999 Cessna Skyhawk 172S was Jeff Rozelle, 36, co-owner of Lantana-based Kemper Aviation, whose crash today was the third fatal wreck for the school's fleet since Oct. 27. It brought the death toll in Kemper-related crashes to eight.
The four men killed were on the final flight of a three-year research project to study the migration of wading birds in the Everglades. All but Rozelle were affiliated with Florida Atlantic University, including graduate student Damion Marx, 35, of Boca Raton, who was studying integrated biology.
Also killed was Phil Heidemann, 43, a master's student at FAU.
The third victim, Gareth Akerman, 36, of Halifax, Canada, was an ornithologist who had been working on a six-month contract with FAU to study migratory birds.
In 2004, Rozelle partnered with Akshay Mohan to form Rohan Aviation Inc. and bought Kemper.
With Rozelle's death, the future of the flight school is uncertain. Rozelle headed the school in Lantana while his partner, Mohan, worked from India.
Reached in New Delhi, Col. Chander Mohan, who heads Kemper Aviation's operations in that city, said he wasn't sure whether the flight school would continue to operate.
"I have no idea," said Chander Mohan, who is Akshay Mohan's father. "Absolutely, Jeff is the only person who would have decided."
13/03/08 Jill Taylor, Michael LaForgia and Kevin Deutsch/Palm Beach Post, United States

Jeff Rozelle insisted his planes were safe until the day he died while flying one.
Last year, some flight instructors at Rozelle's flight school, Kemper Aviation, grumbled that the airplanes reeked of gasoline or had sputtered or broken down in the past. Stoking anxiety, Kemper students crashed twice in the final six weeks of 2007, killing four people and seriously injuring a fifth.
Rozelle, 36, tried to project a sense of calm as a new year began.
In an interview two months ago with The Palm Beach Post, he said he didn't blame his pilots for feeling uneasy. On Thursday morning, Rozelle, a husband and father of two small children, died along with two Florida Atlantic University students and an FAU researcher after a single-engine Cessna 172 that Rozelle was piloting crashed in western Martin County. School officials said Rozelle, a veteran pilot, was carrying the trio near Lake Okeechobee to survey migratory birds for a research project.
Jennifer Rozelle, who manages the flight school's office during the day, described her husband as "a wonderful father and husband."
Henri Massiera, a pilot who worked for Rozelle between November 2006 and June 2007, remembered him as even-tempered and soft-spoken. Rozelle's students - he was chief flight instructor at his school - were shaken by news of his death.

"We have no idea what happened," said one, standing outside the suburban Lake Worth apartment complex where Kemper's students live.
Thursday's wreck was the third fatal crash for the Lantana-based flight school since Oct. 27, and it brought the death toll in Kemper-related crashes to eight.
That's the worst safety record of any flight school in Florida, according to data from the National Transportation Safety Board.
On Oct. 27, a Kemper plane flown by a veteran flight instructor and a trainee crashed into a golf course west of Boynton Beach. Both pilots - Anders Selberg, 46, and his student, Arjun Chhikara, 18 - were killed and a third student, Chandrashekhar Godghate, 39, was critically injured.
After his release from Delray Medical Center in January, Godghate sued Kemper Aviation, the school's maintenance company and the company that leased the plane to the school, alleging negligence. A federal investigator who examined the wrecked Piper found an extra washer installed between the fuel filter bowl and its tightening screw, according to a preliminary report. He also noted that the Piper's engine was set to draw from the right wing tank, which contained only about a half cup of fuel. He has yet to release a final report.
On Dec. 8, six weeks after Selberg and Chhikara died, Kemper student Cleon Alvares was killed along with another pilot, 56-year-old Harry Duckworth III, when Alvares' Cessna collided with Duckworth's Piper in a high-traffic training area over the Everglades west of Boca Raton.
That crash also remains under investigation.
After the crashes, a half dozen current and former instructors described Kemper Aviation as a hazardous place to work, citing concerns about how the school's fleet was maintained.
Federal regulators cited Kemper Aviation for maintenance problems three times in the school's 18-year history, records show. Most recently, Kemper was fined $1,000 for a maintenance problem detected in 2000.
In a statement released Thursday, FAA officials said the school, operated by Rozelle and Mohan's company, Rohan Aviation Inc., still was under investigation.
The FAA relies on 182 general aviation inspectors to keep tabs on 66 flight schools statewide. The inspectors also renew pilot certificates, oversee air shows and investigate crashes, officials said. Two months before he was killed, Rozelle said his school's planes were rigorously inspected by staff mechanics and held to the highest safety standards.
"I wouldn't put these kids in the airplane every day if it wasn't a safe school," Rozelle said. "I take my son up and my family up at times, and I wouldn't do it if I felt it was unsafe.
14/03/08 Michael LaForgia/Palm Beach Post, United States

India's premier aviation and job fair will be held at Nehru centre from 11th to 13th april,2008.
Aviation career and job fair brings together those hoping to break into the aviation industry and those hoping to recruit. It offers the perfect platform to meet with experienced industry veterans and to seek out exciting new talent.
The airline career and job fair will b attended by aviation industry professionals, recent graduates, and individuals from related industries both exhibitors stands and speaker sessions are planned and Indias for most companies and institute will b in attendance.
The event will focus on a range of disciplines including cockpit, cabin crew training, aircraft maintenance engineering, aviation management,
ground handling, airport management.
The schedule of events will be announced at the Aviation Career Fair website.
13/03/08 PRESS RELEASE/Aviation Career Fair

New Delhi: The Minister for Civil Aviation, Praful Patel informed the Parliament today that civil aviation industry in the country is facing a shortage of type rated pilots.
In order to bridge the gap between the demand and availability of pilots, 944 foreign Pilots have been engaged by various airline operators. The airline – wise breakup of Indian and foreign pilots as on 1st January 2008 is:

• Indigo – 88 Indian Pilots & 84 Foreign Pilots
• Paramount Airways – 03 & 11
• Blue Dart – 06 & 10
• Spice Jet – 152 & 53
• Air Deccan – 324 & 141
• Alliance Air – 65 & 40
• Go Air – 52 & 14
• Kingfisher Airlines – 419 & 110
• Jet Airways – 799 & 276
• Jet Lite – 230 & 13
• Air India – 622 & 66
• Air India Express – 44 & 79
  

The Government has taken various steps to reduce the gap between demand and supply of skilled Indian pilots.
These include conditionally increasing the age-limit to 65 years for pilots, upgradation and modernization of training infrastructure of the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi (IGRUA) to enhance its training capacity from 40 to 100 pilots per year, setting up of a world class flying training institute at Gondia, Maharashtra for training 100 cadets and assistance to flying clubs by allocating trainer aircraft through Directorate General of Civil Aviation/Aero Club of India.
The Minister informed that on the basis of estimated growth in civil aviation sector there may be a requirement of 5000 pilots in the next five years.
11/03/08 Press Information Bureau

Manawatu is reaping the benefits of the booming Indian economy, with large numbers of potential pilots winging their way to our flight training schools to earn their commercial licences.
It is estimated more than 200 Indian students are undertaking training in New Zealand this year, bringing millions of dollars to the economy.
Flight Training Manawatu, based at the Feilding Aerodrome, has 27 international students on its books thanks largely to a recruiting agent encouraging young Indians to enrol.
Chief executive Michael Bryant said the school, which runs 13 aircraft, has a full roll and even has a waiting list for domestic students.
The resulting financial flow-on for the region was enormous, he said.
"I can't disclose figures. As you probably know, flight training isn't cheap. But it's not just the fees coming in, they live here for eight or nine months so you have accommodation and all those other expenses as well.
"The spin-off for the local economy really is huge."
New English proficiency requirements for pilots, that came into effect last week, would not impact on recruitment, Mr Bryant said.
Students enrolling in the course were taught English from an early age and had a good understanding of the language before arriving, he said.
The growth in international student numbers has mirrored that of Flight Training Manawatu.
The school opened 14 years ago as a two-man operation and now has 13 paid flight instructors.
Mr Bryant said it was at its maximum operation and would stay at its current size in order to maintain the quality of training offered.
Massey University School of Aviation general manager Ashok Poduval said the global pilot shortage meant employment opportunities were vast for those with the necessary skills.
10/03/08 Christian Bonnevie/Manawatu Standard, New Zealand

A passion for flying is the only reason to consider a career as a pilot, says Dan Martens, a senior instructor for Pacific Flying Club based at Boundary Bay Airport.
The training is expensive -- about $60,000 for a full-time program with a public post-secondary institution -- and the salaries are surprisingly modest, starting at about $20,000 or less per year.
But if you love to fly pilots are in huge demand in Canada, as well as overseas.
The big airlines with their high salaries and the widest range of destinations poach replacements from regional carriers, who turn to flight schools to find experienced pilots.
In some cases, airlines have had to reduce the number of flying hours required by new pilots to keep their planes in the air.
At the same time, China and India are establishing regional routes to meet the demands of their economic growth. The two nations are sending pilots to Canada because of the country's high standards of training and are enticing new Canadian pilots with the opportunity to acquire flying hours and experience much more quickly.
BCIT is one of the province's public post-secondary institutions offering aviation training. Pilots can also train with private flight schools and work on their credentials at their own pace.
Transport Canada requires pilots to first acquire a private pilot licence, followed by a commercial pilot licence, Kennedy says.
"Once you have those two licences, technically you are able to be hired," she says, "but you normally need more aviation training."
Pilots can train to fly float planes, helicopters and twin-engine planes using instruments alone. They can also train as instructors.
To log enough flying time to meet hiring requirements for larger airlines, Kennedy says, pilots may work as flight instructors for a couple of years. They may then move to a regional carrier and work their way into the "left seat" -- the captain's position -- before looking for work at the big companies.
Fred Gaspar, spokesman for the Ottawa-based Air Transport Association of Canada, says newly licensed commercial pilots are heading to India and China, where jobs are plentiful and paycheques are fatter, leaving Canada's regional carriers with a smaller pool of potential recruits.
"In Asia, it's quicker and easier to get your hours and climb the ladder because the growth is so explosive," Gaspar says.
"And when you graduate with $100,000 in debt and still need 2,500 hours to apply to a major operation, you want to go where you can get your hours fastest and make the most money. You go to India."
09/03/08 Wendy Mclellan/Vancouver Province, Canada

Kuala Lumpur: The country's first aviation academy recognised as a higher private tertiary institution is fast turning into a leading pilot training provider in Asia Pacific.
Kota Baru-based Asia Pacific Flight Training Sdn Bhd (APFT) has trained cadet pilots from abroad, in addition to those sent by local carriers Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia Bhd.
APFT chairman Datuk Faruk Othman said it is now in talks with several foreign carriers including Indian airlines to send their cadet pilots for up to 18 months of training there.
"The academy has the capacity to train 200-220. Despite strong interest, we are not going to increase capacity drastically as we prefer quality over quantity," Faruk told Business Times in an interview in Kuala Lumpur recently.
Cadet pilots of Royal Nepal Airlines are undergoing training at the academy now, in addition to a few cadet pilots from Zanzibar and Syria. Late last month, 20 cadet pilots from Indonesia national carrier Garuda Airlines enrolled for a stint there.
Faruk said APFT is certified by the Department of Civil Aviation and is recognised by the International Civil Aviation Organisation.
"Our facilities include 20 single-engine aircraft and four twin- engine aircraft," he said.
The academy, Faruk said, works in collaboration with Boeing Industries' subsidiaries Jeppesen and Alteon on their training system.
Cadets graduating from APFT will not only obtain their Commercial Pilot Licences but also a diploma in aviation management as it is certified as a private higher education institute.
09/03/08 Zuraimi Abdullah/New Straits Times/RedOrbit, US

Chennai: Mr A Shanmugam, Controller of Airworthiness, Chennai declared that Indian aircraft maintenance engineers are in great demand, following their rigorous adherence to upholding the safety norms as stipulated in the aviation industry. Speaking ata seminar at the Hindustan Institute of Engineering Technology, here Saturday Mr Shanmugam declared that this preference for Indian aircraft maintenance engineers was felt right across the globe. Consequently, the whole globe is open for job opportunities, he opined. Leading lights from prestigious academic institutions, aerospace engineering and aviation industry participated in this ceremony.
Earlier presiding over the session, Dr N S Venkatraman, formerly Director, Madras Institute of Technology and an aeronautical specialist himself, stated that the late founder Dr KCG Verghese’s vision with regard to a liberalized aviation industry had actually materialized, a substantial part during his own lifetime.
Dr N S Venkatraman further spoke of the very high regard Indian aircraft maintenance engineers enjoyed with the airlines from developed countries. This had become possible on the back of a world-class academic curriculum backed by intense experience on various types of aircraft. “Indian aircraft maintenance engineers and technicians are in great demand with leading international airlines. Competency, commitment and concern for air safety are prime reasons for this popularity and aircraft maintenance is one stream which has done India proud, long before Information Technology showcased India’s technical prowess” he concluded.
09/03/08 Chennai Online

Manila, Philippines: A four-seater single-engine plane with a pilot instructor and two Indian nationals skidded off Mindoro Airport in Vigan City in Ilocos Sur province Saturday afternoon.
Bombo Radyo Vigan reported Saturday night that the pilot instructor was initially identified as Capt. Lasala. Lasala's two Indian students were not immediately identified.
No one was injured in the accident but the plane's wings and fuselage sustained damage. The Air Transportation Office (ATO) will send a team to the area to look into the incident.
Initial details showed the plane (RPC-1038) left Lingayen in Pangasinan towards Vigan on a training flight.
The plane was about to touch down at the runway of Mindoro Airport but skidded. Investigators suspect the landing gear did not deploy in time.
Only last week, an Indian student pilot and a Filipino instructor died after their plane crashed in Bulacan.
(It seems the aircraft belongs to Air Link International Aviation College, Pasay City.
-Editor, Av India)
08/03/08 GMA news.tv, Philippines

Mumbai: Dismissing the charge that it grounded overweight airhostesses, national carrier Air India on Saturday said there was no basis for such allegations.
''No person has been grounded by us for weight reasons,'' a spokesperson of the airlines said.
The spokesperson also added that if at all anyone was grounded, it was not solely for being overweight. Other health reasons too would have been taken into account.
Air India's clarification came in the wake of reports that while overweight airhostesses were being grounded, their male counterparts were being allowed to fly.Weight rules should apply equally to male cabin crew as well; the airhostesses are reported to have said.<