Chief flying instructors see red over ‘failed’ tests

Mumbai: The country’s flying training industry will soon witness one of the murkiest legal battles with the chief flying instructors (CFI) of India  fighting on one side and a former flying instructor, who was appointed as the director of flying training, directorate-general of civil aviation, on the other.
Capt Arun Mann, who was the CFI of Garg Aviation, a Kanpur-based flying school, was appointed in November 2009 as the DGCA’s director, flying training on an ad hoc basis for a year. “After taking over in February, Capt Mann has been visiting flying schools and conducting impromptu flying tests of their CFI,” said an instructor. The country has about 18 CFIs, and so far, eight of the 10 CFIs could not clear the oral and flying tests conducted by Capt Mann. While some have been demoted to the post of a flight instructor, others have been issued a show cause notice.
There has been a great hue and cry over these developments. “Under the civil aviation requirements (CAR), only a board constituted by the DGCA or a DGCA-appointed examinee (not the director, flying training) can test the CFIs,” the instructor added. Incidentally, all the “failed” CFIs had cleared the tests carried out by DGCA board of examinees. The demotions of eight CFIs have surprised a team of International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) officials who were in India last month. “They questioned the move as there is no law under which a director of flying training can carry out checks or demote chief flying instructors,” said a DGCA official.
Says a CFI working in a flying school in south India, “Last month, I got a show cause notice stating that I had failed the flying check carried out by Capt Mann. I replied to it asking for my test report. The report the DGCA sent showed the date of my test as 8-9 June but on those days, Capt Mann was nowhere near my flying school.”
20/09/10 Manju V/Times of india