Pilots to fly into engineers' zone

Mumbai: Can a pilot do an engineer’s job? The Directorate General of Civil Aviation thinks so. In a shocking decision taken this week, pilots have been deemed eligible to carry out pre-flight inspection of aircraft during transit halts.
The 15-20 minute inspection entrusted till now only to qualified aircraft maintenance engineers (AMEs) certifies whether the aircraft is safe to fly. It’s a walk-around inspection of aircraft and engines from ground level and involves inspection for foreign object damage to engine, blades/propellers, condition of turbines, fuel-oil leak, proper closing and latching of cowls, checking the presence of metal in engine exhaust and identifying it, if any; condition of turbines and oil puddling, checking the condition of flight controls, presence of static discharges etc. The check also includes rectification of defects.
Now, bowing to pressure, apparently from the influential airline lobby, the DGCA has amended the Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR), series ‘F’, part VIII, pertaining to Airworthiness, effective January 26.
12/01/07 Manju V/Times of India