Two Philippine flying schools suspended for violations

Manila: The Civilian Aviation Authority (CAAP) has suspended two flying schools for alleged failure to comply with regulatory standards.
Strike Wing Aviation training Center Inc. and National Aviation Specialist Agency (NASA), both located in Pasay City, were ordered to cease and desist from conducting ground instruction and flight training, CAAP Director General Alfonso Cusi said in a press conference on Thursday.
“We are pushing to professionalize and have our aviation schools meet international standards. All certifications, flight time logs and other documents issued by these schools which are allied to ground and flight instructions will not be honored,” Cusi said.
Strike Wing was audited on June 9-10 by a CAAP-approved training organization inspection team, which submitted its corrective action report to the agency on June 15.
NASA is being investigated for an alleged fake license issued to one of its student pilots. The inspection team scheduled its audit of the school on June 15 but the school asked that it be reset to June 20, on which date the auditors were barred from entering the premises.
“The schools were given enough time to comply with our notices but they refused to undergo proper auditing as provided for by Republic Act No. 9597 or the Civil Aviation Authority Act of 2008,” Cusi said.
He said the licenses of two new flying schools, Manila Aviation and Aviation Link, were also withheld for their failure to comply with aviation standards.
Cusi said CAAP was investigating the possible involvement of aviation schools in the issuance of fake student pilot licenses after several students complained to CAAP, which found the documents to be fake.
Cusi said the “package deals” worth $30,000 to $50,000 offered by the flying schools to students from India, Nepal, China and the Middle East, would be the focus the investigation.
After taking the ground courses, the students move up to the flying lessons. They must log eight to 15 flying hours before they can apply for a student pilot license to continue the course.
Cusi said CAAP discovered that in some cases, logged flying hours had been doctored. One pilot logged an “impossible” 55 flying hours in only two days.
12/08/10 Jerome Aning/Philippine Daily Inquirer