In 2009, he submitted his Federal Aviation Administration CPL licence to the DGCA to convert it into an Indian CPL (in order to fly in India, one should have an Indian CPL) but was unable to get his licence even after two months. During this period, he came in contact with Tyagi, a middleman who helped Asatkar acquire his converted licence. Tyagi had close links with DGCA official Pradeep Sharma, who used to work in the Directorate of Training and Licence.
Later, Asatkar started working as a middleman along with Tyagi and helped students (who had failed to clear their exams) in obtaining CPL and ATPL with contacts in the DGCA. While teaching at Flywings Aviation Academy in Mumbai, he came in contact with two pilots and helped them in acquiring ATPLs. Asatkar earned Rs 5.5 lakh from the deal, while Tyagi got Rs 13 lakh.
“Asatkar is an intelligent chap who was well-versed with flying subjects,” says a source in the aviation industry. “He has cleared all the DGCA exams by fair means, but became a middleman because of corruption in the DGCA and later got arrested.”
Adds Inspector R Srinivasan of the crime branch, “We have investigated the fake licence case and submitted the chargesheet in the Saket court. The case is now pending in the court.”
Srinivasan adds that Asatkar and Tyagi, along with the others arrested, have been charged under Sections 120B (punishment of criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 421 (dishonest or fraudulent removal or concealment of property to prevent distribution among creditors) of the Indian Penal Code.
While Asatkar was arrested on 2 September 2011, records show that he was found eligible to appear for a written test the very next year, following which he was selected by Air India Express and is currently flying the new-generation Boeing 737-800 NG.
When Tehelka contacted Asatkar, this is what he had to say, “I had been falsely implicated in the case of helping pilots obtain licences by unfair means and I have been cleared. I didn’t have any involvement in it. In fact, I used to tutor aviation students in Mumbai and some of them were involved in the case.”
Asatkar promised to provide the clearance document to Tehelka, but we haven’t received anything at the time of going to press.
Another pilot facing charges of obtaining a licence through unfair means is Garima Passi. Despite knowing that SpiceJet has suspended her, Air India Express went on to hire her. After all, she is the daughter of RS Passi, deputy director (air safety) Air Accident Investigation Bureau attached with the civil aviation ministry.
According to information available with Tehelka, Garima is working as a first officer in Air India Express based out of Kochi. She has reportedly joined IndiGo and is serving her notice period with Air India Express.
If one goes by her track record, Garima was found by her flight instructors to be incompetent to fly even single-engine aircraft. However, she is busy flying Boeing 737-800 aircraft with Air India Express.
Paasi was trained at the Sabena Flight Academy in Arizona, US, under the SpiceJet cadet pilot programme in 2008. Due to her incompetent skills, she was kicked out of the academy. She had a record of two landing incidents, including a nose gear damage and a propeller strike. As per the assessment of her two flight instructors, she was inconsistent in flying and was recommended “to stop her flying”. Her instructors also observed that she was not confident to act as a pilot in command and has a fear of aircraft.
After leaving the Sabena Flight Academy, she returned to India and joined Amber Aviation, a flying club based in Pantnagar, Uttarakhand. She completed her training and got her CPL in 2009 and joined SpiceJet as a trainee co-pilot in the same year.
According to DGCA rules, while applying for the issuance or conversion of a CPL, one has to mention cases of accidents or incidents he/she has been involved with in the preceding five years with the details of disciplinary action taken against him/her. But it seems Garima hadn’t mentioned the two landing incidents during her training in the US to the DGCA. In 2011, when it came to light that she has obtained her licence by fraudulent means, she was grounded by SpiceJet, leading to her resignation.
For many, this would mean the end of their flying career, but not for Garima who had both money and influence. Her father, the then director (air safety) in the DGCA, also came under the scanner. Passi was removed from his post after allegations that he had misused his official position to get a job for his daughter.
According to media reports, the then DGCA chief EK Bharat Bhushan removed Passi after he received a letter to his query on the employment of Garima from SpiceJet. The letter stated that Garima had got the job under “extraordinary circumstances”.
Another pilot whose resourceful father’s name came under the scanner for alleged malpractices is Capt Rashmi Sharan, currently working with IndiGo. Her father Alok Kumar Sharan, the former joint director of the DGCA, retired in January.
It is alleged that Sharan granted approval to a flight training school that did not even have a single aircraft at that time and also got his daughter’s flying completed there afterwards.
Sharan gave approval to Raipur-based Touchwood Aviation in 2007. At that time, he was the deputy director (training and licensing). According to DGCA rules, a flying club can only get approval for training to CPL students if it has three serviceable aircrafts. But according to the inspection report filed by an official of the Aerodrome Standard, Touchwood Aviation did not have a single aircraft and lacked facilities such as a briefing room and aircraft hangar that are required for students.
Rashmi completed her flight training from Touchwood Aviation in 2008. The institute was shut down a year later.
Sharan was also alleged of arranging three sessions of special examinations for his daughter by unfair means. Rashmi was unable to clear the papers on air navigation, aviation meteorology and aircraft technical even in five regular attempts, after which special exams were arranged for her. The regular
exams are held every three months, whereas the special exam can be organised on short intervals by requesting the DGCA.
As per the DGCA rules, a candidate can request for special exams from the regulator only if his/her flying hours are getting lapsed or if the candidate may miss out on a job opportunity because only one of his/her papers are back. In 2007, when Rashmi appeared for her first special exam, she had neither cleared three of her papers nor completed the required number of flying hours.
“According to the DGCA time table, regular exams are held every three months,” says an aviation source on the condition of anonymity. “Normally, the cooling period after an exam is six weeks. But these are often overlooked for people with connections in the DGCA. It is easy to pass in special exams as the number of candidates is very few (5-10) and the invigilators don’t keep a tab on them. The practice of cheating is rampant in such exams, so it becomes easy for them to pass.”
Sharan was suspended in March 2012 for allegedly giving undue favours to 28 flying schools and causing a loss of 190 crore to the exchequer in his capacity as deputy director (training and licensing), who is responsible for granting approval to flying schools. But he was reinstated in August 2012. Last year, the CBI filed a case against him for giving extension to a Bilaspur-based flying club on the basis of inappropriate documents. However, he was given a clean chit.
In order to stop these malpractices, the then DGCA director Bhushan started the practice of special exams and started online pilot exams in 2011.