Pilots’ exam to go online from July

New Delhi: The government has started plugging loopholes in the pilot examination and licensing system that helped unscrupulous Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) officials churn out scores of fake commercial pilot licence (CPL) holders.

A joint clean-up operation by aviation secretary Nasim Zaidi and DGCA chief Bharat Bhushan has led to the decision that exams for becoming a commander will be held online from next month. Then other exams for CPL and personal pilot licence would also go online.

To check the quality of pilots coming after getting their commercial pilot licences from foreign shores, the government has decided to make such pilots undergo skill tests in India before converting their licences so that they become eligible for flying with desi airlines. “The foreign licences will be checked with the issuing authority before converting the same,” said an official.
A chance probe into a commander’s papers earlier this year had led to the uncovering of licences procured illegally. The root cause of this problem was found to be a very basic flaw: marksheets collected by pilot aspirants from DGCA’s R K Puram examination branch were not cross-checked at the licensing section at the regulator’s headquarters opposite Safdarjung Airport.
03/06/11 Times of India