Chennai:
Is another Mangalore like air crash waiting to happen? Going by a report from the aviation regulator, the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Paramount Airways, another crash cannot be ruled out.
An inspection carried out by the agency has revealed severe lapses in air safety norms by Paramount Airways. The report says that the airline is operating in an unsafe environment. The report also adds:
- Aircraft released for flight by fitting defective items
- Non-technical personnel used to release aircraft
- Certifying staff pressurised to release aircraft to fly
- Passengers not covered by insurance
- Paramount cannibalising un-airworthy aircraft
- Ground support equipment not properly maintained
- The airline has Inadequate pilots, co-pilots, aircraft engineers
It must be noted that Paramount's scheduled airline license was suspended in April this year by the aviation regulator after the number of its leased aircraft went down to two due to non-payment of dues to the leasing companies.
DGCA's mandatory guideline is to have at least five aircraft to operate as an airline. The order had to be revoked after Paramount quoted an old court order.
"It must be immediately shut down. This is just too bad," said Sudhakar Reddy, President, Air Passengers Association of India.
Meanwhile, Paramount Airlines has defended its operations and have said, "All observations pointed out by DGCA has been fully complied with. Paramount Airways has not had any single incident or accident in last three years. The DGCA audit has only pointed certain minor deficiencies."
What sums up this whole report is the concluding remarks which say Paramount Airways has many deficiencies and that the airline has developed an attitude to neglect safety requirements. But at stake in this neglect is the lives of hundreds of people.