Sunday, March 30, 2008
ALL aviation news from India: Aviation India Blog
Safer Skies launches aviation courses in Jammu
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
To read the news in full |
PermaLink 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
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Baramati air crash investigation still on, says DGCA official
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.
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
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PermaLink "..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.
________________________
See Also:
Flight school grounded for ‘forging’ pilot
licences, Ministry lets it fly again
Your pilot may have bought his license
_________________________
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.See Also:
Flight school grounded for ‘forging’ pilot
licences, Ministry lets it fly again
Your pilot may have bought his license
_________________________
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
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Thursday, March 27, 2008
ALL aviation news from India: Aviation India Blog
DAE Flight Academy to commence 'first officer' training from March 30
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.
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
To read the news in full |
PermaLink 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
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Kemper still can teach US citizens to fly
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
To read the news in full |
PermaLink 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
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Wednesday, March 26, 2008
ALL aviation news from India: Aviation India Blog
New Zealand-based Helipro to make its Indian debut
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
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PermaLink 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
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Flight school Kemper gives up pilot training
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
To read the news in full |
PermaLink 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
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Sunday, March 23, 2008
ALL aviation news from India: Aviation India Blog
DAE University to conduct knowledge sessions
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
To read the news in full |
PermaLink 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
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Crash victims identified as investigation continues
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.
“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
To read the news in full |
PermaLink 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.
__________________________________
Student pilot from India at controls
when plane crashed
Rome, Georgia: A student pilot from India was at
the controls of a small, two-engine plane when it
crashed, killing him and his flight instructor, a coroner
said Saturday.Lokesh Venkat, 23, who was from
the southern Indian city of Chennai, was living in
the Atlanta area temporarily while he and a group of
people from his country took aviation training, Floyd
County chief deputy coroner Tony Cooper said.
23/03/08 Fort Mills Times, USA
__________________________________
National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration officials arrived at the scene to conduct a preliminary investigation into the crash.Student pilot from India at controls
when plane crashed
Rome, Georgia: A student pilot from India was at
the controls of a small, two-engine plane when it
crashed, killing him and his flight instructor, a coroner
said Saturday.Lokesh Venkat, 23, who was from
the southern Indian city of Chennai, was living in
the Atlanta area temporarily while he and a group of
people from his country took aviation training, Floyd
County chief deputy coroner Tony Cooper said.
23/03/08 Fort Mills Times, USA
__________________________________
“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
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Saturday, March 22, 2008
ALL aviation news from India: Aviation India Blog
US instructor and Indian student die in Georgia plane crash
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
To read the news in full |
PermaLink 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
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Kemper flight school closes operation
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:
To read the news in full |
PermaLink 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”
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Thursday, March 20, 2008
ALL aviation news from India: Aviation India Blog
Canadian co plans aviation academy
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
To read the news in full |
PermaLink 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
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Wednesday, March 19, 2008
ALL aviation news from India: Aviation India Blog
Indian students walk away from NZ crash
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
To read the news in full |
PermaLink 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
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Piloting a course to airlines' future
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:
To read the news in full |
PermaLink 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.
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Monday, March 17, 2008
ALL aviation news from India: Aviation India Blog
Just me and my aircraft
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
To read the news in full |
PermaLink 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
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Sunday, March 16, 2008
ALL aviation news from India: Aviation India Blog
Govt to airlines: Make room for desi co-pilots
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
To read the news in full |
PermaLink 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
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‘India needs better standards in flight training’
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
To read the news in full |
PermaLink 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
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Congressmen call on FAA to act against flight training school
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
To read the news in full |
PermaLink 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
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Saturday, March 15, 2008
ALL aviation news from India: Aviation India Blog
Nagpur flying club to restart shortly
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
To read the news in full |
PermaLink 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
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Carver academy plane crashes into Baramati river
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
To read the news in full |
PermaLink 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
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US air crash: Spotlight on Indian trainees
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
To read the news in full |
PermaLink 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
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Friday, March 14, 2008
ALL aviation news from India: Aviation India Blog
Flight school plane crashes in Martin County; School owner and three others die
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
To read the news in full |
PermaLink 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
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Kemper Aviation owner defended safety of planes
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
To read the news in full |
PermaLink 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.
________________________________________________
A history of Kemper crashes
Sept. 18, 2006: A Kemper Aviation student damages a Cessna 152 airplane
in a botched landing in suburban Lantana; less than three months later,
the school tries to re-register the plane with the Federal Aviation Administration.
January 2007: A former Kemper instructor is forced to make an emergency
landing in suburban Lantana when an engine seizes after takeoff.
Aug. 23, 2007: A Kemper student on her first solo flight gets lost and crash-lands
near LaBelle; less than two months later, Kemper re-registers the plane with the FAA.
Oct. 27, 2007: An instructor and a student die when a Kemper Piper Archer
plane crashes into a golf course west of Boynton Beach; a federal investigator
finds an improperly assembled fuel filter on the downed plane and one fuel tank
with less than a cup of fuel.
Dec. 8, 2007: A Kemper student dies along with another pilot when two planes
collide in a concentrated flight training area over the Everglades west of Boca Raton.
Thursday: Four men aboard a Cessna 172 registered to Kemper die when it crashes
in western Martin County. The plane, piloted by Kemper's co-owner, Jeff Rozelle,
carried two Florida Atlantic University students and a researcher.
_________________________________________________
A history of Kemper crashes
Sept. 18, 2006: A Kemper Aviation student damages a Cessna 152 airplane
in a botched landing in suburban Lantana; less than three months later,
the school tries to re-register the plane with the Federal Aviation Administration.
January 2007: A former Kemper instructor is forced to make an emergency
landing in suburban Lantana when an engine seizes after takeoff.
Aug. 23, 2007: A Kemper student on her first solo flight gets lost and crash-lands
near LaBelle; less than two months later, Kemper re-registers the plane with the FAA.
Oct. 27, 2007: An instructor and a student die when a Kemper Piper Archer
plane crashes into a golf course west of Boynton Beach; a federal investigator
finds an improperly assembled fuel filter on the downed plane and one fuel tank
with less than a cup of fuel.
Dec. 8, 2007: A Kemper student dies along with another pilot when two planes
collide in a concentrated flight training area over the Everglades west of Boca Raton.
Thursday: Four men aboard a Cessna 172 registered to Kemper die when it crashes
in western Martin County. The plane, piloted by Kemper's co-owner, Jeff Rozelle,
carried two Florida Atlantic University students and a researcher.
_________________________________________________
"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
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Aviation and job fair next month at Mumbai
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
To read the news in full |
PermaLink 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
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Wednesday, March 12, 2008
ALL aviation news from India: Aviation India Blog
Shortage of type rated pilots: Airlines employ 944 foreigners
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:
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
To read the news in full |
PermaLink 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
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Read Also:
Govt tells airlines not to hire foreign co-pilots
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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.Read Also:
Govt tells airlines not to hire foreign co-pilots
____________________________
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
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Monday, March 10, 2008
ALL aviation news from India: Aviation India Blog
Indian students flocks to New Zealand flying schools
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
To read the news in full |
PermaLink 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
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Pilots earned their wings in Canada heading to India
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
To read the news in full |
PermaLink 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
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Malaysian aviation school woos Indian cadet pilots
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
To read the news in full |
PermaLink 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
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Safety is the mantra in aircraft maintenance
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
To read the news in full |
PermaLink 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
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Sunday, March 09, 2008
ALL aviation news from India: Aviation India Blog
Plane with two Indian students skids off runway
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
To read the news in full |
PermaLink 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
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Air India denies grounding obese airhostesses
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.
08/03/08 Press Trust of India/NDTV.com
To read the news in full |
PermaLink ''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.
08/03/08 Press Trust of India/NDTV.com
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Saturday, March 08, 2008
ALL aviation news from India: Aviation India Blog
Fat air-hostesses out, but portly pursers fly
Mumbai: In the national airline, Air India, obesity is perfectly kosher for male pursers, some of whom even struggle to get their seat belts round their girth. But for air-hostesses, fat is unacceptable.
At Air India, only air-hostesses and women cabin crew members have to undergo the annual/biennial medical tests. If they flunk and tip the scales all the way to overweight, there is a chance that they might be grounded. Male pursers, no matter how stout, are not put through these routine medical checks. They do have to hop on to the weighing scales every six months, but without any danger of being deplaned.
An AI spokesperson, however, said that no cabin crew member, male or female, had ever been grounded solely for being overweight. "Grounding takes place when other health issues too come into focus," he said. The pursers, however, are never probed for "other medical issues". "It's discriminatory to assume that only fat women could be unhealthy and not fat men," said an air-hostess. "Of the 400 male pursers with Air India, 34 are grossly overweight but have never been put on ground duty."
Indian Airlines and Alliance Air do not have different rules for the male and female flying staff.
08/03/08 Manju V/Times of India
To read the news in full |
PermaLink At Air India, only air-hostesses and women cabin crew members have to undergo the annual/biennial medical tests. If they flunk and tip the scales all the way to overweight, there is a chance that they might be grounded. Male pursers, no matter how stout, are not put through these routine medical checks. They do have to hop on to the weighing scales every six months, but without any danger of being deplaned.
An AI spokesperson, however, said that no cabin crew member, male or female, had ever been grounded solely for being overweight. "Grounding takes place when other health issues too come into focus," he said. The pursers, however, are never probed for "other medical issues". "It's discriminatory to assume that only fat women could be unhealthy and not fat men," said an air-hostess. "Of the 400 male pursers with Air India, 34 are grossly overweight but have never been put on ground duty."
Indian Airlines and Alliance Air do not have different rules for the male and female flying staff.
08/03/08 Manju V/Times of India
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Please stand by while we find a pilot
In our skies and on our roads, Canada's facing its next transportation crisis - a shortage of experienced pilots and professional truck drivers.
"It's having a large impact on a global scale, because it's resulted in shifting pilots between countries," says Marc-David Seidel, an aviation expert and associate professor at the University of British Columbia.
"You have emerging markets in Asia - China and India are the ones we're hearing a lot about - and the Middle East all actively recruiting and taking Canadian pilots."
That's what happened to Capt. Brian Boucher, a veteran pilot who logged 29 years with Air Canada before disembarking for another carrier. Boucher is now flying for India's Kingfisher Airlines and commutes to its New York City base for his shifts.
"All these airlines overseas now are starting to create bases here in North America and there's no doubt more (Canadian) pilots will start flying for them," Boucher says. "The pay's better and the quality of life is better."
Factor in large-scale retirements as Baby Boomer pilots reach age 60, the mandatory retirement age at most carriers, and insiders agree there's turbulence ahead for the industry.
The world's largest airline, American Airlines, didn't have enough pilots to fly its planes in February. More than 50 flights were grounded when 143 pilots retired and the airline avoided further cancellations by putting 250 managers, who were qualified pilots, into cockpits.
Here in Canada, a hiring boom is underway as carriers try to navigate around a similar fate. Air Canada has hired nearly 700 pilots since July 2005, and with more than 100 pilots retiring every year, training courses for new hires are being offered at least every month.
At Vancouver-based Pro IFR, one of Canada's largest professional flight centres, the crunch has already begun. After losing seven flight instructors last year, the company is now actively recruiting.
At American Eagle, applications are being accepted from pilots with 500 flight hours, which typically translates into less than a year's experience. Of those hours, 100 need to be on a multi-engine airplane.
Western Canadian carrier Central Mountain Air, which flies between B.C. and Alberta, has gone a step further. It's offering to hire "low-time pilots" to ground positions and then transition them into the cockpit.
07/03/08 Tess van Straaten/Business Edge, Canada
To read the news in full |
PermaLink "It's having a large impact on a global scale, because it's resulted in shifting pilots between countries," says Marc-David Seidel, an aviation expert and associate professor at the University of British Columbia.
"You have emerging markets in Asia - China and India are the ones we're hearing a lot about - and the Middle East all actively recruiting and taking Canadian pilots."
That's what happened to Capt. Brian Boucher, a veteran pilot who logged 29 years with Air Canada before disembarking for another carrier. Boucher is now flying for India's Kingfisher Airlines and commutes to its New York City base for his shifts.
"All these airlines overseas now are starting to create bases here in North America and there's no doubt more (Canadian) pilots will start flying for them," Boucher says. "The pay's better and the quality of life is better."
Factor in large-scale retirements as Baby Boomer pilots reach age 60, the mandatory retirement age at most carriers, and insiders agree there's turbulence ahead for the industry.
The world's largest airline, American Airlines, didn't have enough pilots to fly its planes in February. More than 50 flights were grounded when 143 pilots retired and the airline avoided further cancellations by putting 250 managers, who were qualified pilots, into cockpits.
Here in Canada, a hiring boom is underway as carriers try to navigate around a similar fate. Air Canada has hired nearly 700 pilots since July 2005, and with more than 100 pilots retiring every year, training courses for new hires are being offered at least every month.
At Vancouver-based Pro IFR, one of Canada's largest professional flight centres, the crunch has already begun. After losing seven flight instructors last year, the company is now actively recruiting.
At American Eagle, applications are being accepted from pilots with 500 flight hours, which typically translates into less than a year's experience. Of those hours, 100 need to be on a multi-engine airplane.
Western Canadian carrier Central Mountain Air, which flies between B.C. and Alberta, has gone a step further. It's offering to hire "low-time pilots" to ground positions and then transition them into the cockpit.
07/03/08 Tess van Straaten/Business Edge, Canada
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Friday, March 07, 2008
ALL aviation news from India: Aviation India Blog
Worldwide shortage of aircraft maintenance engineers: An opportunity for India, China?
London: Record aircraft orders during the past two years suggest air transport has never been healthier. Yet, despite this optimistic prospect, the question of who is going to maintain all these aircraft could stop airline growth in its tracks.
The shortage of aircraft maintenance engineers, technicians and mechanics is a problem worldwide; an exception is Gulf-based airlines. Being less cost-pressured than their cash-strapped competitors, Middle East carriers can offer skilled and experienced people top-flight salaries.
Adel Al Redha, Emirates Airline's executive vice president engineering and operations, said his engineering department has not experienced an engineer shortage, but conceded that demand for skilled people (in the MRO industry) has increased significantly. To date, he said Emirates has been able to recruit all the licensed and experienced engineers it needs from other countries, and it also offers training to engineering graduates.
ST Aerospace COO Ho Yuen Sang conceded that his company had "lost a few people to Middle East companies" and had heard that the packages offered to these people appeared very attractive. However, he didn't see large numbers of engineers leaving Singapore to move to jobs elsewhere because places like Singapore and Hong Kong work on a different financial level than other parts of Asia-Pacific.
In his opinion, the country most affected by skill migration is the Philippines.
The flow from poorer paid positions to higher paid ones is at the heart of the engineer shortage, according to Dave Marcontell, executive vice president and principal at industry consultants TeamSAI.
Despite demand, the current shortage has not driven wages up, he said.
"Over the past 10 years, airlines in the growth areas in Europe, Asia and India have had to hire a lot of people to keep that growth going, which likely accounts for the high average age of maintenance personnel. It's therefore likely that the average age of maintenance personnel in companies that hired a lot of people is consequently lower," Philippe Mhun, vice president A380 program, Airbus Customer Services said.
Given these ominous signs, OEMs and MROs have moved to address the skills shortage by getting closer to the students in technical colleges and universities and harnessing help from local authorities to develop technical skills.
"We cannot wait for graduates to knock on our door," observed Bernhard Conrad, senior vice president design organization and innovation at Lufthansa Technik.
Rolls-Royce said it hires around 300 young graduates and apprentices each year to maintain the "life blood" of young skills in the company.
From its U.S. base, Boeing has relationships with universities worldwide and has increased that involvement over the past two years to get closer to the students and understand what they want.
So, with the technologies and materials to maintain in new generation aircraft, what kind of engineers will the MRO industry need?
Boeing's Brunke believes new generation maintenance engineers will need to be high-caliber graduates with strong IT skills. They will need to understand computing and e-enablement, how computers link together, how the interfaces between hardware and software operate and how to discern the differences between software and hardware anomalies.
As the industry begins to increasingly depend on the higher-levels of education and training required to support more complex equipment, Marcontell believes airlines will find it harder to recruit and retain people of this level. By contrast, larger MROs with a large revenue base will be more likely to successfully hire and retain such people.
Supply and demand will be the biggest influence on industry stability, Marcontell said. Moreover, the industry has reached a point where it can no longer meet airline needs by hiring people straight from school.
India and China, he noted, have a lot of well-educated and well-trained professionals who are used to low (local) wages and who could easily fill the shortages in the West.
Now, costs are rising in those lower-cost areas, and, while the rise to parity won't happen overnight, the Indian and Chinese economies inevitably will experience the same wage pressure issues suffered in the West. But wage parity in the industry will only occur when airlines worldwide are making reasonable profits.
06/03/08 Bill Burchell/Aviation Week, US
To read the news in full |
PermaLink The shortage of aircraft maintenance engineers, technicians and mechanics is a problem worldwide; an exception is Gulf-based airlines. Being less cost-pressured than their cash-strapped competitors, Middle East carriers can offer skilled and experienced people top-flight salaries.
Adel Al Redha, Emirates Airline's executive vice president engineering and operations, said his engineering department has not experienced an engineer shortage, but conceded that demand for skilled people (in the MRO industry) has increased significantly. To date, he said Emirates has been able to recruit all the licensed and experienced engineers it needs from other countries, and it also offers training to engineering graduates.
ST Aerospace COO Ho Yuen Sang conceded that his company had "lost a few people to Middle East companies" and had heard that the packages offered to these people appeared very attractive. However, he didn't see large numbers of engineers leaving Singapore to move to jobs elsewhere because places like Singapore and Hong Kong work on a different financial level than other parts of Asia-Pacific.
In his opinion, the country most affected by skill migration is the Philippines.
The flow from poorer paid positions to higher paid ones is at the heart of the engineer shortage, according to Dave Marcontell, executive vice president and principal at industry consultants TeamSAI.
Despite demand, the current shortage has not driven wages up, he said.
"Over the past 10 years, airlines in the growth areas in Europe, Asia and India have had to hire a lot of people to keep that growth going, which likely accounts for the high average age of maintenance personnel. It's therefore likely that the average age of maintenance personnel in companies that hired a lot of people is consequently lower," Philippe Mhun, vice president A380 program, Airbus Customer Services said.
Given these ominous signs, OEMs and MROs have moved to address the skills shortage by getting closer to the students in technical colleges and universities and harnessing help from local authorities to develop technical skills.
"We cannot wait for graduates to knock on our door," observed Bernhard Conrad, senior vice president design organization and innovation at Lufthansa Technik.
Rolls-Royce said it hires around 300 young graduates and apprentices each year to maintain the "life blood" of young skills in the company.
From its U.S. base, Boeing has relationships with universities worldwide and has increased that involvement over the past two years to get closer to the students and understand what they want.
So, with the technologies and materials to maintain in new generation aircraft, what kind of engineers will the MRO industry need?
Boeing's Brunke believes new generation maintenance engineers will need to be high-caliber graduates with strong IT skills. They will need to understand computing and e-enablement, how computers link together, how the interfaces between hardware and software operate and how to discern the differences between software and hardware anomalies.
As the industry begins to increasingly depend on the higher-levels of education and training required to support more complex equipment, Marcontell believes airlines will find it harder to recruit and retain people of this level. By contrast, larger MROs with a large revenue base will be more likely to successfully hire and retain such people.
Supply and demand will be the biggest influence on industry stability, Marcontell said. Moreover, the industry has reached a point where it can no longer meet airline needs by hiring people straight from school.
India and China, he noted, have a lot of well-educated and well-trained professionals who are used to low (local) wages and who could easily fill the shortages in the West.
Now, costs are rising in those lower-cost areas, and, while the rise to parity won't happen overnight, the Indian and Chinese economies inevitably will experience the same wage pressure issues suffered in the West. But wage parity in the industry will only occur when airlines worldwide are making reasonable profits.
06/03/08 Bill Burchell/Aviation Week, US
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Thursday, March 06, 2008
ALL aviation news from India: Aviation India Blog
DGCA insists English proficiency of ICAO standards
In an order signed on March 04, 2008, DGCA has made it compulsory for all aircraft personnel to acquire English language proficiency as per the ICAO stipulations.
The aircraft personnel include the holders of pilot’s licence, flight engineer’s licence, flight navigator’s licence (except student pilot’s licence and pilot’s licence for gliders, balloons and
microlight aircraft), air traffic controllers and aeronautical station operators.
The order says the aircraft personnel shall have their English language proficiency evaluated to the ICAO language proficiency standards within a period of three years from 5th March, 2008.
All the existing aircraft personnel (holders of pilot’s licence, flight engineer’s licence, flight navigator’s licence, air traffic controllers and aeronautical station operators), as on 5th March, 2008, shall be deemed to have the ability to speak and understand English language to the required ICAO language proficiency Level 4 (operational).
The licences granted after 5th March, 2008 shall be considered to have the required ICAO language proficiency Level 4 (operational) till such time that the licences are issued on the basis of an evaluation conducted for assessing the applicant’s language proficiency. Then the language proficiency of the licence holder is evaluated within a period of three years but in no case
later than 5th March 2011.
06/03/08 DGCA
To read the news in full |
PermaLink The aircraft personnel include the holders of pilot’s licence, flight engineer’s licence, flight navigator’s licence (except student pilot’s licence and pilot’s licence for gliders, balloons and
microlight aircraft), air traffic controllers and aeronautical station operators.
The order says the aircraft personnel shall have their English language proficiency evaluated to the ICAO language proficiency standards within a period of three years from 5th March, 2008.
All the existing aircraft personnel (holders of pilot’s licence, flight engineer’s licence, flight navigator’s licence, air traffic controllers and aeronautical station operators), as on 5th March, 2008, shall be deemed to have the ability to speak and understand English language to the required ICAO language proficiency Level 4 (operational).
The licences granted after 5th March, 2008 shall be considered to have the required ICAO language proficiency Level 4 (operational) till such time that the licences are issued on the basis of an evaluation conducted for assessing the applicant’s language proficiency. Then the language proficiency of the licence holder is evaluated within a period of three years but in no case
later than 5th March 2011.
06/03/08 DGCA
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Wednesday, March 05, 2008
ALL aviation news from India: Aviation India Blog
Govt tells airlines not to hire foreign co-pilots
New Delhi: The government has asked domestic carriers not to hire foreign co-pilots as there is already a glut of Indian co-pilots, with airlines getting anywhere between 20 to 40 applications for each position.
In a meeting with airlines, the aviation ministry said it could understand that India still has a shortage of trained commanders/captains and airlines may have to hire expats. But as far as co-pilots go, airlines need to select desi ones.
At present, India has 944 foreign pilots - 810 commanders and 134 co-pilots.
Hiring a fresh Indian co-pilot means that airlines have to first get a type rating for the aircraft they will have to operate. This means sending commercial pilot licence holders abroad for training on simulator of planes like an A-320 or Boeing 737, something that takes a few months and costs anywhere up to Rs 7 lakh.
A fresh CPL holder can join an airline as co-pilot and then get type-rating (training to fly a certain aircraft). Once a type-rated pilot flies for between 1,500 and 2,500 hours, he or she becomes a commander/captain. At each level, the salary jumps from - Rs 60,000-80,000; Rs 1-1.5 lakh and Rs 2-2.5 lakh.
05/03/08 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India
To read the news in full |
PermaLink In a meeting with airlines, the aviation ministry said it could understand that India still has a shortage of trained commanders/captains and airlines may have to hire expats. But as far as co-pilots go, airlines need to select desi ones.
At present, India has 944 foreign pilots - 810 commanders and 134 co-pilots.
Hiring a fresh Indian co-pilot means that airlines have to first get a type rating for the aircraft they will have to operate. This means sending commercial pilot licence holders abroad for training on simulator of planes like an A-320 or Boeing 737, something that takes a few months and costs anywhere up to Rs 7 lakh.
A fresh CPL holder can join an airline as co-pilot and then get type-rating (training to fly a certain aircraft). Once a type-rated pilot flies for between 1,500 and 2,500 hours, he or she becomes a commander/captain. At each level, the salary jumps from - Rs 60,000-80,000; Rs 1-1.5 lakh and Rs 2-2.5 lakh.
05/03/08 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India
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No flying tests for IAF pilots joining Air India
New Delhi: The civil aviation industry is facing a shortage of trained civilian pilots, Rajya Sabha was informed on Tuesday.
In order to bridge the gap between the demand and availability of pilots, 944 foreigners have been engaged by various airlines in the country, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said in a written reply.
He said that a memorandum of understanding was signed between the Indian Air Force and Air India on April five, enabling IAF pilots to join it.
A similar agreement was signed between IAF and Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd last month, he said.
Patel said that qualified pilots from the IAF are exempted from appearing in flying tests and certain specified technical examinations of Directorate General of Civil Aviation, required for issue of licence.
04/03/08 PTI/Times of India
To read the news in full |
PermaLink In order to bridge the gap between the demand and availability of pilots, 944 foreigners have been engaged by various airlines in the country, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said in a written reply.
He said that a memorandum of understanding was signed between the Indian Air Force and Air India on April five, enabling IAF pilots to join it.
A similar agreement was signed between IAF and Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd last month, he said.
Patel said that qualified pilots from the IAF are exempted from appearing in flying tests and certain specified technical examinations of Directorate General of Civil Aviation, required for issue of licence.
04/03/08 PTI/Times of India
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NACIL grounds 43 airhostesses for being overweight
In one of the starred questions raised in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, the original dream girl and MP Hema Malini wanted to know how many air hostesses working for the state carrier Air India have been grounded so far for being overweight.
It turns out that as many as 43 of the roughly 2,500 air hostesses gracing the rolls of Indian Airlines, Air India and Alliance Air together have been taken off flight duties till February this year because of weight issues.
Civil aviation minister Praful Patel informed the house that 22 air hostesses of the Indian Airlines, 16 of the AI and five of Alliance Air have been grounded till last month. “Such cabin crew are asked to reappear for weight check periodically and assigned flight duty once they conform to the prescribed weight limits,” he said.
“Cabin crew who continue to remain overweight are evaluated by a duly constituted medical board and based on its assessment and recommendations, further action is taken as per the terms of employment,” the minister said.
Officials say unlike private airlines, AI continues to pay all emoluments to air hostesses grounded due to weight problems except for the flight allowance.
05/03/08 Sindhu Bhattacharya/Daily News & Analysis
To read the news in full |
PermaLink It turns out that as many as 43 of the roughly 2,500 air hostesses gracing the rolls of Indian Airlines, Air India and Alliance Air together have been taken off flight duties till February this year because of weight issues.
Civil aviation minister Praful Patel informed the house that 22 air hostesses of the Indian Airlines, 16 of the AI and five of Alliance Air have been grounded till last month. “Such cabin crew are asked to reappear for weight check periodically and assigned flight duty once they conform to the prescribed weight limits,” he said.
“Cabin crew who continue to remain overweight are evaluated by a duly constituted medical board and based on its assessment and recommendations, further action is taken as per the terms of employment,” the minister said.
Officials say unlike private airlines, AI continues to pay all emoluments to air hostesses grounded due to weight problems except for the flight allowance.
05/03/08 Sindhu Bhattacharya/Daily News & Analysis
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Tuesday, March 04, 2008
ALL aviation news from India: Aviation India Blog
Philippines Air Transportation Office starts inspection of flying schools
Manila, Philippines: The Air Transportation Office (ATO) has begun a comprehensive audit of civilian flying schools around the country, concerned over the rise in training flight accidents in recent years.
The ATO has started inspections of 36 aviation schools nationwide to review their operations and compliance with management and safety regulations, agency officials said Monday.
ATO Executive Director Daniel Dimagiba said the audit was “normal,” but ATO accident investigation board chief and safety division deputy Jose Saplan said the audit was opened because of the increase in the number of accidents involving flying schools in the last three years.
“We just had a conference with flying school operators on January 21 and we're going to evaluate all the schools because we noted an increase in accidents, especially last year,” Saplan said.
Citing data, Saplan said the number of flight training accidents that involved loss of life, severe injuries or grave damage to property doubled to eight last year, from four in 2006.
A separate file of “incidents” -- minor aircraft mishaps that did not involve grave damage, injury or death -- listed 11 last year, a sharp increase from the three in 2006.
Earlier, the ATO suspended the operations of Fliteline Aviation School in Bulacan after its planes were involved in two crashes within eight months.
The latest accident occurred Saturday in Plaridel when a Fliteline instructor and his student were killed in the crash of their training plane.
03/03/08 Tarra Quismundo/Inquirer.net, Philippines
To read the news in full |
PermaLink The ATO has started inspections of 36 aviation schools nationwide to review their operations and compliance with management and safety regulations, agency officials said Monday.
ATO Executive Director Daniel Dimagiba said the audit was “normal,” but ATO accident investigation board chief and safety division deputy Jose Saplan said the audit was opened because of the increase in the number of accidents involving flying schools in the last three years.
“We just had a conference with flying school operators on January 21 and we're going to evaluate all the schools because we noted an increase in accidents, especially last year,” Saplan said.
Citing data, Saplan said the number of flight training accidents that involved loss of life, severe injuries or grave damage to property doubled to eight last year, from four in 2006.
A separate file of “incidents” -- minor aircraft mishaps that did not involve grave damage, injury or death -- listed 11 last year, a sharp increase from the three in 2006.
Earlier, the ATO suspended the operations of Fliteline Aviation School in Bulacan after its planes were involved in two crashes within eight months.
The latest accident occurred Saturday in Plaridel when a Fliteline instructor and his student were killed in the crash of their training plane.
03/03/08 Tarra Quismundo/Inquirer.net, Philippines
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Class II Medical Examiner Empanelment- Apply now
DGCA has invited applications from candidates for empanelment as Class II Medical Examiners. The empanelment will be for a period of two years followed by similar extensions, depending upon performance.
The following are the required qualifications:
(i) A degree in medicine recognised by MCI, with a background in military/ civil
aviation.
(ii) Preference will be given to candidates with a post-graduate degree, preferably
in Aviation Medicine and having undergone the Primary Course in Aviation Medicine
or Aircrew Medical Examiners Course at Institute of Aerospace Medicine Bangalore.
The candidates may apply on a plain paper with photocopies of relevant certificates of
competency. Physical verification and a professional interview will be conducted in
the second week of April 2008 at DGCA New Delhi, for the selected candidates. The
list of candidates called for the interview will be put up on the DGCA website; no
individual intimation will be sent to candidates for the interview.
The Director Medical Services (Aerospace Medicine), Med Directorate, Air HQ is the
head of the selection panel, along with members from Directorate General Civil
Aviation and approval granted by Principal Director Medical Services (S), Med
Directorate, Air HQ.
All approved Class II Medical Examiners will have to undergo a refresher course, once a year, held under the aegis of DGCA.
The last date for receiving applications by post is 21 March 2008.
Applications may be sent by post to:
Gp Capt J K Shrivastava
Director Medical Services (Civil Aviation)
Office of the Director General of Civil Aviation,
Technical Centre,
Opposite Safdarjung Airport,
Aurbindo Marg
New Delhi – 110 003
Candidates who have applied prior to 01 Mar 2008 need to apply again.
To read the news in full |
PermaLink The following are the required qualifications:
(i) A degree in medicine recognised by MCI, with a background in military/ civil
aviation.
(ii) Preference will be given to candidates with a post-graduate degree, preferably
in Aviation Medicine and having undergone the Primary Course in Aviation Medicine
or Aircrew Medical Examiners Course at Institute of Aerospace Medicine Bangalore.
The candidates may apply on a plain paper with photocopies of relevant certificates of
competency. Physical verification and a professional interview will be conducted in
the second week of April 2008 at DGCA New Delhi, for the selected candidates. The
list of candidates called for the interview will be put up on the DGCA website; no
individual intimation will be sent to candidates for the interview.
The Director Medical Services (Aerospace Medicine), Med Directorate, Air HQ is the
head of the selection panel, along with members from Directorate General Civil
Aviation and approval granted by Principal Director Medical Services (S), Med
Directorate, Air HQ.
All approved Class II Medical Examiners will have to undergo a refresher course, once a year, held under the aegis of DGCA.
The last date for receiving applications by post is 21 March 2008.
Applications may be sent by post to:
Gp Capt J K Shrivastava
Director Medical Services (Civil Aviation)
Office of the Director General of Civil Aviation,
Technical Centre,
Opposite Safdarjung Airport,
Aurbindo Marg
New Delhi – 110 003
Candidates who have applied prior to 01 Mar 2008 need to apply again.
The place for general discussion, feedback and questions Readers Forum
Finding pilots - The toughest task for airlines
For airlines that normally depend on analyzing the basics of aircraft economics and market dynamics in assessing routes and strategies, a shortage of qualified pilots has provided a rude awakening to changes well outside the usual trade lanes. In Asia, where countries have seen an upheaval in trading patterns in recent years, finding pilots has emerged as one of the toughest issues for start-ups as well as incumbent airlines.
Marsha Bell, vice president of marketing of Alteon Training, the commercial training arm of Boeing, pointed to the growth rate of aviation in China, which basically sees a doubling of the commercial jet aircraft fleet in three years. Freighter operators in the region are helping feed that demand.
"China needs on average 2,500 pilots a year over the next 20 years," she said.
According to the Civil Aviation Administration of China, the country will need over 9,000 more pilots by 2010 to handle the controls of the new Boeing and Airbus planes that are entering the Chinese fleet at a rate of 150 a year.
China's flight schools cannot keep up with this pace. Last September, the CAAC warned they could only train 7,000 pilots until 2010, leaving a shortfall of 2,000.
Having an open regulatory environment that allows the recruitment of expatriate flight crews can be a big advantage for an airline, according to Ram Menen, executive vice president of cargo of Emirates Airlines. "We can recruit pilots from any nationality. In the EU, you need EU nationals," he said.
Emirates and other Middle Eastern airlines have been accused of aggressively recruiting pilots from other countries, but they are not the only ones that are looking far and wide for flight crews. Korean Air has expedition teams that regularly visit the United States and some other countries, such as Brazil. Indian carriers have also been eager to sign up experienced pilots from North America.
Indeed, the pilot shortage has become a global issue; it is just more pronounced in Asia, thanks to China's rapid growth in aviation, she said. According to IATA, about 17,000 pilots are going to be needed every year in the next 18 years to match the projected growth in the world jet aircraft fleet of some 19,000 new planes until 2025.
The situation is in danger of turning dire soon in Australia, according to Regional Express, the country's largest regional carrier. By its estimates, the country needs an additional 1,800 pilots over the coming two years but will probably train less than half of that.
IATA favors the raising of the retirement roof to 65, but argues this is not enough to prevent a serious shortage in the coming years.
The airline body has been pushing for a new approach to pilot training, notably the multi-crew pilot licensing training program the International Civil Aviation Organization endorsed in 2006. This concept is more aircraft-focused and simulator-based, as opposed to the traditional approach, which emphasizes actual flying and prepares a pilot for solo flying.
Changing training parameters and boosting capacities must be met with a drive to entice young people to want to become pilots.
Arguably this could be tougher for all-cargo carriers, with their flights at odd hours and destinations as likely to include industrial zones as the more familiar gateways. "Passenger airlines tend to pay more and offer better lifestyles, so cargo is feeling the squeeze more," said Ron Mathison, general manager and director of cargo at Cathay Pacific.
Most airline executives are at pains to deflect suggestions that cargo could be hurt more than passenger operations. "There will be a lot of demand for passenger pilots, but I don't think it will put pressure on us. Some pilots like to fly for cargo airlines, because no day is the same," said Menen.
Ken Choi, who retired from the helm of Korean Air Cargo at the end of last year, said in November the world's largest international cargo carrier occasionally had to wet-lease freighters due to limitations on cockpit crews even though it had aircraft available.
In any case, the situation is unlikely to get easier in the near term and there is widespread agreement that carriers and their customers are seeing only the start of a longer-term phenomena. "I think the pilot shortage will really bite in 2010," Menen said.
03/03/08 Ian Putzger/aircargoworld, DC, USA
To read the news in full |
PermaLink Marsha Bell, vice president of marketing of Alteon Training, the commercial training arm of Boeing, pointed to the growth rate of aviation in China, which basically sees a doubling of the commercial jet aircraft fleet in three years. Freighter operators in the region are helping feed that demand.
"China needs on average 2,500 pilots a year over the next 20 years," she said.
According to the Civil Aviation Administration of China, the country will need over 9,000 more pilots by 2010 to handle the controls of the new Boeing and Airbus planes that are entering the Chinese fleet at a rate of 150 a year.
China's flight schools cannot keep up with this pace. Last September, the CAAC warned they could only train 7,000 pilots until 2010, leaving a shortfall of 2,000.
Having an open regulatory environment that allows the recruitment of expatriate flight crews can be a big advantage for an airline, according to Ram Menen, executive vice president of cargo of Emirates Airlines. "We can recruit pilots from any nationality. In the EU, you need EU nationals," he said.
Emirates and other Middle Eastern airlines have been accused of aggressively recruiting pilots from other countries, but they are not the only ones that are looking far and wide for flight crews. Korean Air has expedition teams that regularly visit the United States and some other countries, such as Brazil. Indian carriers have also been eager to sign up experienced pilots from North America.
Indeed, the pilot shortage has become a global issue; it is just more pronounced in Asia, thanks to China's rapid growth in aviation, she said. According to IATA, about 17,000 pilots are going to be needed every year in the next 18 years to match the projected growth in the world jet aircraft fleet of some 19,000 new planes until 2025.
The situation is in danger of turning dire soon in Australia, according to Regional Express, the country's largest regional carrier. By its estimates, the country needs an additional 1,800 pilots over the coming two years but will probably train less than half of that.
IATA favors the raising of the retirement roof to 65, but argues this is not enough to prevent a serious shortage in the coming years.
The airline body has been pushing for a new approach to pilot training, notably the multi-crew pilot licensing training program the International Civil Aviation Organization endorsed in 2006. This concept is more aircraft-focused and simulator-based, as opposed to the traditional approach, which emphasizes actual flying and prepares a pilot for solo flying.
Changing training parameters and boosting capacities must be met with a drive to entice young people to want to become pilots.
Arguably this could be tougher for all-cargo carriers, with their flights at odd hours and destinations as likely to include industrial zones as the more familiar gateways. "Passenger airlines tend to pay more and offer better lifestyles, so cargo is feeling the squeeze more," said Ron Mathison, general manager and director of cargo at Cathay Pacific.
Most airline executives are at pains to deflect suggestions that cargo could be hurt more than passenger operations. "There will be a lot of demand for passenger pilots, but I don't think it will put pressure on us. Some pilots like to fly for cargo airlines, because no day is the same," said Menen.
Ken Choi, who retired from the helm of Korean Air Cargo at the end of last year, said in November the world's largest international cargo carrier occasionally had to wet-lease freighters due to limitations on cockpit crews even though it had aircraft available.
In any case, the situation is unlikely to get easier in the near term and there is widespread agreement that carriers and their customers are seeing only the start of a longer-term phenomena. "I think the pilot shortage will really bite in 2010," Menen said.
03/03/08 Ian Putzger/aircargoworld, DC, USA
The place for general discussion, feedback and questions Readers Forum
Monday, March 03, 2008
ALL aviation news from India: Aviation India Blog
Foreign students fill Florida skies, but communication, airspace woes grow
On any given day, the skies over South Florida are filled with student pilots from India, China and other foreign lands learning the rudiments of flight. Most hope to become professional pilots.
Their growing numbers have been a boon to the local economy as well as to flight schools that specialize in training foreign pilots. One of those, Dean International in Miami, has become so busy that it bought 32 extra training planes and hired 23 additional instructors. "They have a big economic impact on this area," Robert Dean, the school's owner, said of the foreign students. "Every single one of them goes out and buys a laptop. They spend money in restaurants and to occupy housing."
Yet, the students, who now number in the hundreds each year, also have put a strain on South Florida's airspace, which already is bustling with airline and corporate planes, authorities said.
They are a particular headache for air traffic controllers, who must communicate with a large number of inexperienced fliers who don't always understand complex or rapid-fire instructions in American-accented English.
"You have to speak slower. You can't condense transmissions," said Jim Marinitti of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association in Miami. "They frequently ask controllers to repeat instructions."
And, simply by virtue of the fact that they add to the congestion in the sky, other pilots must keep a sharper lookout. In December, a plane flown by a student pilot from India and another plane collided in the air, killing both pilots. The accident is still under investigation.
The students are sure to keep coming, and in ever greater numbers.
Because of furious growth in civil aviation in Asia, notably in India and China, combined with the decline of the U.S. dollar, the number of foreigners learning to fly in South Florida has exploded, with more than 500 arriving in the past year alone.
With students' time here limited, they undertake a demanding training regimen, as South Florida's year-round good weather allows them to take accelerated courses. Most will pay more than $30,000 to earn their commercial licenses and obtain the skills to fly in poor visibility conditions and in larger planes.
Then comes the reward. After their training is done, aviation analysts say, the graduates are virtually certain of landing a high-paying job because many Asian airlines and corporations are buying hundreds of new planes and need pilots.
According to aviation authorities in India, that country has fewer than 3,000 pilots now — yet will need more than 15,000 during the next two decades. The current shortage is so severe that Air India last year turned to the Indian Air Force to supply it with experienced pilots. Other airlines were forced to hire foreigners.
Pan Am International Flight Academy at Miami International Airport is currently training about 200 students from India. After arriving with no flying experience, they learn to handle jet simulators within six months.
Judi Blas, an academy spokeswoman, said one reason so many students come to South Florida is India lacks flight schools.
Kemper Aviation flight school, based in Lantana, markets directly in India and has a section on its Web site geared to appeal to Indian students. As a result, it has become one of the most popular flight schools in South Florida for Indian students.
Two of Kemper's Indian students died in recent flight accidents.
According to the National Transportation Safety Board, the investigations into both accidents are still in the preliminary phase.
Before foreigners can enroll in a U.S. flight school, they must obtain a visa, generally allowing them a two- to five-year visit, and they must speak English fluently. When the Indian flight students leave South Florida, they generally have amassed 275 hours of flying time, Dean said. That is enough to get them hired to fly jetliners in India, though the airlines then require additional training.
Sharad Mangal, of Delhi, is one of the many Indian students who now fly through South Florida skies, yearning to work for an airline.
"I just want to fly," said Mangal, 21, who is taking lessons in a two-seat, single-engine Cessna 152 at Pelican Airways.
03/03/08 Ken Kaye/South Florida Sun-Sentinel
To read the news in full |
PermaLink Their growing numbers have been a boon to the local economy as well as to flight schools that specialize in training foreign pilots. One of those, Dean International in Miami, has become so busy that it bought 32 extra training planes and hired 23 additional instructors. "They have a big economic impact on this area," Robert Dean, the school's owner, said of the foreign students. "Every single one of them goes out and buys a laptop. They spend money in restaurants and to occupy housing."
Yet, the students, who now number in the hundreds each year, also have put a strain on South Florida's airspace, which already is bustling with airline and corporate planes, authorities said.
They are a particular headache for air traffic controllers, who must communicate with a large number of inexperienced fliers who don't always understand complex or rapid-fire instructions in American-accented English.
"You have to speak slower. You can't condense transmissions," said Jim Marinitti of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association in Miami. "They frequently ask controllers to repeat instructions."
And, simply by virtue of the fact that they add to the congestion in the sky, other pilots must keep a sharper lookout. In December, a plane flown by a student pilot from India and another plane collided in the air, killing both pilots. The accident is still under investigation.
The students are sure to keep coming, and in ever greater numbers.
Because of furious growth in civil aviation in Asia, notably in India and China, combined with the decline of the U.S. dollar, the number of foreigners learning to fly in South Florida has exploded, with more than 500 arriving in the past year alone.
With students' time here limited, they undertake a demanding training regimen, as South Florida's year-round good weather allows them to take accelerated courses. Most will pay more than $30,000 to earn their commercial licenses and obtain the skills to fly in poor visibility conditions and in larger planes.
Then comes the reward. After their training is done, aviation analysts say, the graduates are virtually certain of landing a high-paying job because many Asian airlines and corporations are buying hundreds of new planes and need pilots.
According to aviation authorities in India, that country has fewer than 3,000 pilots now — yet will need more than 15,000 during the next two decades. The current shortage is so severe that Air India last year turned to the Indian Air Force to supply it with experienced pilots. Other airlines were forced to hire foreigners.
Pan Am International Flight Academy at Miami International Airport is currently training about 200 students from India. After arriving with no flying experience, they learn to handle jet simulators within six months.
Judi Blas, an academy spokeswoman, said one reason so many students come to South Florida is India lacks flight schools.
Kemper Aviation flight school, based in Lantana, markets directly in India and has a section on its Web site geared to appeal to Indian students. As a result, it has become one of the most popular flight schools in South Florida for Indian students.
Two of Kemper's Indian students died in recent flight accidents.
According to the National Transportation Safety Board, the investigations into both accidents are still in the preliminary phase.
Before foreigners can enroll in a U.S. flight school, they must obtain a visa, generally allowing them a two- to five-year visit, and they must speak English fluently. When the Indian flight students leave South Florida, they generally have amassed 275 hours of flying time, Dean said. That is enough to get them hired to fly jetliners in India, though the airlines then require additional training.
Sharad Mangal, of Delhi, is one of the many Indian students who now fly through South Florida skies, yearning to work for an airline.
"I just want to fly," said Mangal, 21, who is taking lessons in a two-seat, single-engine Cessna 152 at Pelican Airways.
03/03/08 Ken Kaye/South Florida Sun-Sentinel
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Senator Schumer accuses TSA of slip in foreign students' background checks
In the years following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, many flight schools that operate nationwide are still not properly screening foreign students, Sen. Charles Schumer said yesterday.
Schumer blasted the Transportation Security Administration for allowing 8,000 foreign students to attend flight schools or obtain pilot's licenses without proper background checks. The TSA is supposed to conduct a federally mandated security check before flight school instruction or enrollment.
Schumer said the TSA is asleep at the switch and that he would like to see an audit of the agency followed by new fines for schools that fail to provide proper background checks. This, he said, could be putting lives in danger.
"We need a full investigation of the TSA to figure out why this is still happening," Schumer said. "The problem lies with both the schools and the TSA. Some of the schools don't even ask for any documentation."
TSA representatives denied students were falling through the cracks and maintained that they are following the 2003 law that requires them to screen foreign students.
"TSA checks every foreign national that applies for flight training in this country or at FAA-certified facilities anywhere in the world," said a spokesman who did not want his name used. "Further, the claim that 8,000 students have not been checked by the Alien Flight School Program is inaccurate."
Schumer, who said he obtained his numbers from an internal report, said he would like to see the 8,000 foreign students checked by the FBI and that schools should receive beefed up fines if they fail to comply with the law.
02/03/08 Brandon Bain/Newsday, USA
To read the news in full |
PermaLink Schumer blasted the Transportation Security Administration for allowing 8,000 foreign students to attend flight schools or obtain pilot's licenses without proper background checks. The TSA is supposed to conduct a federally mandated security check before flight school instruction or enrollment.
Schumer said the TSA is asleep at the switch and that he would like to see an audit of the agency followed by new fines for schools that fail to provide proper background checks. This, he said, could be putting lives in danger.
"We need a full investigation of the TSA to figure out why this is still happening," Schumer said. "The problem lies with both the schools and the TSA. Some of the schools don't even ask for any documentation."
TSA representatives denied students were falling through the cracks and maintained that they are following the 2003 law that requires them to screen foreign students.
"TSA checks every foreign national that applies for flight training in this country or at FAA-certified facilities anywhere in the world," said a spokesman who did not want his name used. "Further, the claim that 8,000 students have not been checked by the Alien Flight School Program is inaccurate."
Schumer, who said he obtained his numbers from an internal report, said he would like to see the 8,000 foreign students checked by the FBI and that schools should receive beefed up fines if they fail to comply with the law.
02/03/08 Brandon Bain/Newsday, USA
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Crash of Varsha's plane remains a mystery
Thiruvananthapuram: Seven months after her death in a mid-air collision in Malolos City, Philippines, memories of trainee-pilot Varsha Gopinath, 18, linger afresh in the minds of her parents and friends. Shockingly, what caused the mid-air crash still remains a mystery to them.
One factor that links trainee pilot Kaushik G Mohan, 26, who died in a plane crash early Saturday morning in Philippines, and Varsha - other than that both are from Thiruvananthapuram - is that the plane that rammed her Cessna from behind on July 9, 2007, belonged to Fliteline Aviation School Kaushik later trained at.
Scores of letters to the WCC Aviation Company, Philippines, where Varsha trained at, and the Indian Ambassador in Philippines have failed to provide N.Gopinathan Nair, Varsha's father, with an answer.
In these seven months, Gopinatha Pillai wrote to Capt Raymond, vice president of WCC but got no reply. He wrote to the Indian ambassador in Manila, but received no response.
Unlike Kaushik, Varsha had not intended to go to Philippines when she signed up for pilot training with Air Titan Pilot Academy, Kochi. Kaushik Mohan, who gave up a career in hotel management for flying, died on Saturday after his plane crashed in a paddy field next to the Plaridel Airfield while he was about to land.
Last month, another Malayali, Kiran Panikker of Kollam died after his plane crashed in the sea off Philippines.
03/03/08 Newindpress
To read the news in full |
PermaLink One factor that links trainee pilot Kaushik G Mohan, 26, who died in a plane crash early Saturday morning in Philippines, and Varsha - other than that both are from Thiruvananthapuram - is that the plane that rammed her Cessna from behind on July 9, 2007, belonged to Fliteline Aviation School Kaushik later trained at.
Scores of letters to the WCC Aviation Company, Philippines, where Varsha trained at, and the Indian Ambassador in Philippines have failed to provide N.Gopinathan Nair, Varsha's father, with an answer.
___________________________________
Philippines ground Cessna planes
The Air Transportation Office yesterday ordered the
grounding of all Cessna-150 planes in the country
following the recent crash in Bulacan where two persons
were killed. The Cessna 150 is a two-seat airplane
designed for flight training, touring and personal use,
the ATO said. “All Cessna aircraft in the country are
ordered grounded pending the investigation of the trainer
plane which crashed in Plaridel, Bulacan where two pilots
were killed,” Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza
said.Most of the 100 Cessna-150 trainer planes in the
country are 40 years old.
03/03/08 Vito Barcelo
Manila Standard Today, Philippines
___________________________________
"The flying instructor Capt Castello who accompanied Varsha's body to Thiruvananthapuram told me that a government investigation was on in Philippines and that a delegation consisting of the owner of WCC Aviation Company would meet me with the investigation report. Nothing has happened so far," he said.Philippines ground Cessna planes
The Air Transportation Office yesterday ordered the
grounding of all Cessna-150 planes in the country
following the recent crash in Bulacan where two persons
were killed. The Cessna 150 is a two-seat airplane
designed for flight training, touring and personal use,
the ATO said. “All Cessna aircraft in the country are
ordered grounded pending the investigation of the trainer
plane which crashed in Plaridel, Bulacan where two pilots
were killed,” Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza
said.Most of the 100 Cessna-150 trainer planes in the
country are 40 years old.
03/03/08 Vito Barcelo
Manila Standard Today, Philippines
___________________________________
In these seven months, Gopinatha Pillai wrote to Capt Raymond, vice president of WCC but got no reply. He wrote to the Indian ambassador in Manila, but received no response.
Unlike Kaushik, Varsha had not intended to go to Philippines when she signed up for pilot training with Air Titan Pilot Academy, Kochi. Kaushik Mohan, who gave up a career in hotel management for flying, died on Saturday after his plane crashed in a paddy field next to the Plaridel Airfield while he was about to land.
Last month, another Malayali, Kiran Panikker of Kollam died after his plane crashed in the sea off Philippines.
03/03/08 Newindpress
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Woman student lodges police compalint aganist Kingsfisher Institute manager
Mumbai: A 21-year-old woman, undergoing training at Kingsfisher Airline Training Institute to be an air hostess, has lodged a police complaint against a senior manager of the institute, alleging he had deliberately failed her in the examination.
The police said the victim (name withheld to protect identity) had lodged a first information report on February 28 against the manager.
A police officer, who is part of the investigation, said, “The complainant has alleged that the manager had told her that she would have to model in a swimsuit for next year’s Kingsfisher calendar. The complainant even claimed that the manager demanded to satisfy the top bosses with sexual demands failing which she may have to face the brunt.”
No arrest has been made yet. The manager has been booked under the Indian Penal Code section 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman).
03/02/08 V Narayan & Naveeta Singh/Daily News & Analysis
To read the news in full |
PermaLink The police said the victim (name withheld to protect identity) had lodged a first information report on February 28 against the manager.
A police officer, who is part of the investigation, said, “The complainant has alleged that the manager had told her that she would have to model in a swimsuit for next year’s Kingsfisher calendar. The complainant even claimed that the manager demanded to satisfy the top bosses with sexual demands failing which she may have to face the brunt.”
No arrest has been made yet. The manager has been booked under the Indian Penal Code section 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman).
03/02/08 V Narayan & Naveeta Singh/Daily News & Analysis
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Sunday, March 02, 2008
ALL aviation news from India: Aviation India Blog
Engine trouble caused Philippine plane crash
Thiruvananthapuram: Kaushik Mohan and his Filipino flying instructor were killed after their aircraft crashed in a paddyfield next to the airfield.
Filipino media reports said that they had completed flying lessons and were about to land at the Plaridel airfield when the Cessna 150 developed engine trouble. The plane exploded after crashing.
According to information received by Kaushik's family, the plane had hit a power line before crashing.
Kaushik's body is expected to be brought here on Tuesday, after a formal inquiry on Monday, family sources said.
Caught by the flying bug, Kaushik left for the Philippines in November last after opting for a seven-month package of 200 hours of training at $ 40,000.
He had completed 120 hours and was to have come home in May, his father Mohanakumaran Nair said.
In a way, flying was in the family for Kaushik. His father and brother were enthusiasts though none were full-fledged pilots.
"Kaushik had taken his BHM (Bachelor of Hotel Management) from the Manipal Academy and had also worked for two years at the Taj Residency, Bangalore, before he took up flying," Mohanakumaran Nair said.
Cheap packages are drawing hundreds of Indian students to Filipino flying schools, but recent accidents have raised concerns about their safety and proficiency.
Only last week, a family in Kollam was shattered after hearing the news of the death of Kiran G Panicker, 23, a flight instructor with a Filipino flying school.
And in July, 2007, Varsha Gopinath, 18, a trainee-pilot from Eanchakkal, Thiruvananthapuram, was killed after her plane, a Cessna, collided mid-air in the Philippines.
02/03/08 Newindpress
To read the news in full |
PermaLink Filipino media reports said that they had completed flying lessons and were about to land at the Plaridel airfield when the Cessna 150 developed engine trouble. The plane exploded after crashing.
According to information received by Kaushik's family, the plane had hit a power line before crashing.
Kaushik's body is expected to be brought here on Tuesday, after a formal inquiry on Monday, family sources said.
Caught by the flying bug, Kaushik left for the Philippines in November last after opting for a seven-month package of 200 hours of training at $ 40,000.
He had completed 120 hours and was to have come home in May, his father Mohanakumaran Nair said.
In a way, flying was in the family for Kaushik. His father and brother were enthusiasts though none were full-fledged pilots.
"Kaushik had taken his BHM (Bachelor of Hotel Management) from the Manipal Academy and had also worked for two years at the Taj Residency, Bangalore, before he took up flying," Mohanakumaran Nair said.
Cheap packages are drawing hundreds of Indian students to Filipino flying schools, but recent accidents have raised concerns about their safety and proficiency.
Only last week, a family in Kollam was shattered after hearing the news of the death of Kiran G Panicker, 23, a flight instructor with a Filipino flying school.
And in July, 2007, Varsha Gopinath, 18, a trainee-pilot from Eanchakkal, Thiruvananthapuram, was killed after her plane, a Cessna, collided mid-air in the Philippines.
02/03/08 Newindpress
The place for general discussion, feedback and questions Readers Forum
SriLankan pilots leave to join Indian, Middle East airlines
National carrier Sri Lankan Airlines will lose 28 pilots this year to airlines in Asia and the Middle East. Already Sri Lanka’s single international carrier is functioning below the required cadre. The airline will lose many more trained pilots for its Airbuses, by the middle of this year – just as Emirates moves out from fully managing the airline.
Sri Lankan needs around 225 pilots for full, regular operations. At the moment it is functioning with 211 pilots. This week, SriLankan confirmed that 28 pilots, out of its current pilot cadre of 211, have already given notice.
Most of the pilots are going to airlines in India and the Middle East. India’s demand for pilots of wide-bodied aircrafts has jumped with airlines like Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines starting to operate international flights. Many of the trained and experienced pilots leaving Sri Lankan are entering these two Indian airlines.
SriLankan pilots are also joining Middle Eastern airlines like Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways. SriLankan said it has stepped up training and recruitment to maintain uninterrupted operations, despite the large exodus of its trained pilots.
The outflow of trained Sri Lankan pilots has been gradually increasing over the past few years.
02/03/08 Dilshani Samaraweera/Sunday Times.lk, Sri Lanka
To read the news in full |
PermaLink Sri Lankan needs around 225 pilots for full, regular operations. At the moment it is functioning with 211 pilots. This week, SriLankan confirmed that 28 pilots, out of its current pilot cadre of 211, have already given notice.
Most of the pilots are going to airlines in India and the Middle East. India’s demand for pilots of wide-bodied aircrafts has jumped with airlines like Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines starting to operate international flights. Many of the trained and experienced pilots leaving Sri Lankan are entering these two Indian airlines.
SriLankan pilots are also joining Middle Eastern airlines like Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways. SriLankan said it has stepped up training and recruitment to maintain uninterrupted operations, despite the large exodus of its trained pilots.
The outflow of trained Sri Lankan pilots has been gradually increasing over the past few years.
02/03/08 Dilshani Samaraweera/Sunday Times.lk, Sri Lanka
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Saturday, March 01, 2008
ALL aviation news from India: Aviation India Blog
Chopper training cost to go down
The single line on aviation in the Union Budget could prove to be a bonanza for youngsters nursing dreams of becoming a chopper pilot.
The finance minister removed customs duty on chopper simulators used for training and this move could make training cost go down even as the demand for helicopter pilots is all set to shoot up in coming years.
India currently has 170 choppers and less than 300 pilots for them.
The number of choppers is expected to rise by another 500 in next five years.
A requirement of three pilots per chopper means nearly 1,500 of them would be needed by 2013.
"Training to become a chopper pilot costs about Rs 17 to 18 lakh. With customs duty gone on simulators, this training cost could fall by 10 to 15%. I welcome this move," said R K Tyagi, CMD of state-owned chopper operator Pawan Hans.
01/03/08 Times of India
To read the news in full |
PermaLink The finance minister removed customs duty on chopper simulators used for training and this move could make training cost go down even as the demand for helicopter pilots is all set to shoot up in coming years.
India currently has 170 choppers and less than 300 pilots for them.
The number of choppers is expected to rise by another 500 in next five years.
A requirement of three pilots per chopper means nearly 1,500 of them would be needed by 2013.
"Training to become a chopper pilot costs about Rs 17 to 18 lakh. With customs duty gone on simulators, this training cost could fall by 10 to 15%. I welcome this move," said R K Tyagi, CMD of state-owned chopper operator Pawan Hans.
01/03/08 Times of India
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Indian student and filipino instructor die in Philippines training plane crash
Manila, Philippines: Two people were killed when the Cessna plane 150 they were riding crashed in a village in Plaridel town in Bulacan province Saturday.
Q-TV's Balitanghali reported that the crash occurred at 10:30 a.m. in an irrigation site in Agnaya village.
The victims were identified as Mike Bernabe, the flight instructor, and Kaushik Mohan, an Indian national. The victims were badly burned as a result of the crash.
The Air Transportation Office is currently conducting investigation on what caused the crash.
01/03/08 GMANews.TV/GMA news.tv, Philippines
To read the news in full |
PermaLink Q-TV's Balitanghali reported that the crash occurred at 10:30 a.m. in an irrigation site in Agnaya village.
The victims were identified as Mike Bernabe, the flight instructor, and Kaushik Mohan, an Indian national. The victims were badly burned as a result of the crash.
__________________________________
Read Also:
Flight instructor from Kerala missing in Philippines
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Two flight school planes collide; 3 dead
Monday, July 09, 2007
Dombivli girl flew high with dreams, but ..
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Indian pilot student escapes with injuries as plane crashes in Philippines
Thursday, December 20, 2007
__________________________________
The plane, operated by Flightline Aviation, a local flying school, reportedly crashed only five meters away from the nearest residential house.Read Also:
Flight instructor from Kerala missing in Philippines
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Two flight school planes collide; 3 dead
Monday, July 09, 2007
Dombivli girl flew high with dreams, but ..
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Indian pilot student escapes with injuries as plane crashes in Philippines
Thursday, December 20, 2007
__________________________________
The Air Transportation Office is currently conducting investigation on what caused the crash.
01/03/08 GMANews.TV/GMA news.tv, Philippines
The place for general discussion, feedback and questions Readers Forum
IFALPA worried about misuse of multi-crew pilot licence in face of pilot shortage
The new multi-crew pilot licence (MPL) could be "applied incorrectly in response to cost or time pressures to respond to the current pilot shortage", according to the International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations.
IFALPA has formally expressed its worries just as two other global organisations have announced a programme intended to address the growing world shortage of airline pilots.
MPL training standards, specified by the International Civil Aviation Organisation, have the potential to produce high airline pilot competency, IFALPA concedes.
_____________________________
Read Also
Safety fears over flight simulator training
_____________________________
But flight training organisations (FTO) and the training syllabus they develop have to be approved in each state by the local national aviation authority, and it is variations at the national level that worry IFALPA.
The Association explains that a liberal interpretation of ICAO's standards for MPL training "could have a detrimental impact on flight safety", adding that "improper application could also erode current, proven training standards".
The pilot association says: "Only a well-devised MPL scheme that is gradually introduced into common use, coupled with an effective advisory board system with a clearly defined charter that assists in implementation of any MPL scheme, will overcome the challenges posed by the new MPL concept."
The FTOs operating MPL at present say the course takes between 15 and 18 months. FTOs in the Asia-Pacific, however, are known to be aiming at an MPL course that takes less than a year.
29/02/08 David Learmount/Flight International
To read the news in full |
PermaLink IFALPA has formally expressed its worries just as two other global organisations have announced a programme intended to address the growing world shortage of airline pilots.
MPL training standards, specified by the International Civil Aviation Organisation, have the potential to produce high airline pilot competency, IFALPA concedes.
_____________________________
Read Also
Safety fears over flight simulator training
_____________________________
But flight training organisations (FTO) and the training syllabus they develop have to be approved in each state by the local national aviation authority, and it is variations at the national level that worry IFALPA.
The Association explains that a liberal interpretation of ICAO's standards for MPL training "could have a detrimental impact on flight safety", adding that "improper application could also erode current, proven training standards".
The pilot association says: "Only a well-devised MPL scheme that is gradually introduced into common use, coupled with an effective advisory board system with a clearly defined charter that assists in implementation of any MPL scheme, will overcome the challenges posed by the new MPL concept."
The FTOs operating MPL at present say the course takes between 15 and 18 months. FTOs in the Asia-Pacific, however, are known to be aiming at an MPL course that takes less than a year.
29/02/08 David Learmount/Flight International
The place for general discussion, feedback and questions Readers Forum
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