Bribe your way to the top

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Safety hazard Yashraj Tongia landed a job with the DGCA despite not getting a security clearance, Photo: Tehelka
Safety hazard Yashraj Tongia landed a job with
the DGCA despite not getting a security clearance

In 2005-06, when the Indian aviation industry witnessed a boom with an increase in passenger traffic and the entry of new airlines, many youth dreamt of becoming pilots. Irrespective of their financial limitations, youngsters started enrolling in expensive flying programmes. During that period, even those who had cleared his/her DGCA examination without completing the requisite flying hours used to get calls for jobs from airlines. But gradually the scene changed. As it happens, the demand-supply ratio tipping in the wrong direction resulted in all sorts of corruption in the aviation sector. While many excellent pilots could never realise their dreams of flying, those who had mediocre flying skills but had the influence to force their way in, got placed.

An agent named Gaurav Pathak duped many pilots on the pretext of getting them jobs. A former employee in the HR department of Kingfisher Airlines, Pathak joined Chennai-based Volk Airlines, which never got airborne. In 2013, trainee pilot Yash Vithlani filed a case against Pathak in Pune, claiming that Pathak had duped him of Rs 10 lakh after promising him a job in Volk Airlines.

After clearing the written test and two rounds of interviews, Vithlani was asked to cough up Rs 25 lakh. Vithlani even got a letter from Volk Airlines saying that he had been selected as an Airbus 320 trainee co-pilot. When he failed to receive any further communication, he called up Pathak, who asked him about the money. After bargaining, Vithlani agreed to pay Rs 10 lakh for the job. However, Pathak went absconding after the transaction.

Vithlani is not the only one who was duped by Pathak. Tehelka met two pilots in Pune who fell for the same con. One trainee pilot was duped of Rs 3 lakh, while the other was relieved of Rs 4.5 lakh. However, one of them managed to get back his money by using forceful means.

“Taking money for jobs has become a trend in the industry,” says a first officer of a low-cost airline. “The amount ranges from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 35 lakh.”

“There are other airlines that promote unfair practices,” says a Jet Airways commander on the condition of anonymity. “They have an unofficial one-plus-one offer — if a commander joins the airline, they will also give a job to his son, daughter or brother if he or she is a pilot.”

As a result, pilots without influence end up losing out. For example, this is what happened with Go Air in 2014. “The company had received specific information of prima facie unethical and improper activity that suggested potentially serious malpractices and lapses in the recruitment process in some areas of operations within the company,” says an internal memo. The company decided to temporarily suspend some employees in flight operations for a “free and fair” trial. It is to be noted that Go Air suspended Puneet Shankta, director of flight operations, due to allegations of favoritism and unfair practices in recruiting pilots.

The candidates who had been selected were told later that the recruitment process had been cancelled. “The written exam was held on 20 December 2013 and the result came out on 31 October 2014,” says a candidate. “Forty candidates were invited for the next round. Go Air asked us to do a recency (renewal) of type rating (Airbus A320). Most of us went abroad and did our recency, which costs at least Rs 2 lakh (it ranges from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 6 lakh, depending on the time lapse). One day, we were informed that the recruitment process has been scrapped. What was our fault? These airline officials themselves indulged in malpractices and recruited their own people and when they got caught, people like us had to suffer.”

Chennai-based aviation safety analyst Capt Mohan Ranganathan, who was a member of the Civil Aviation Safety Advisory Council, throws some light on how the regulatory body kept a lid on the 2011 recruitment scam.

“The recruitment scam in Air India Express was swept under the carpet during the UPA regime,” he says. “Even the fake licence scam was hushed up. They took action against 15 persons or so but there was a cover up in the rest of the cases. One of those punished was an instructor at a Nagpur-based flying club. Her own proficiency assessment by a DGCA flight operations inspector is a farce considering the fact that she had only 20 hours of experience and had fudged her rest. The DGCA knew all about this but looked the other way in order to protect its flight operations inspector. The DGCA does not verify criminal records. Many appointments are made purely on the basis of influence. If the DGCA took action against all those pilots with fake licences, hundreds would have been grounded. That would have affected many airline companies. As a result, the DGCA hushed everything up.

“In Garima’s case, Air India Express was aware of her record. Yet, going by the poor safety standards of the carrier and sustained violations of safety norms and training, they hired her in a bid to neutralise her father, RS Passi (who was then with the DGCA.”

Talking about former DGCA joint director AK Sharan and his daughter’s employment in IndiGo, he says, “The number of people in the DGCA who have a conflict of interest is one of the main reasons why safety standards are so poor in India. The civil aviation ministry is aware that the children of many bureaucrats, who occupy top positions in the DGCA , are employed by various airlines. It costs almost Rs 50 lakh to get a CPL and an A320/737 endorsement before joining. If you think that a person who earns around
Rs 45,000 per month can afford this, then you are naive. Airlines employ them and probably underwrite the cost of training, while the DGCA officials look the other way when the airlines take shortcuts.”

Commenting on the Tongia case, he says, “In India, the criteria has never been what you know and how qualified you are. It has always been based on whom you know and how high your connections are.

“The DGCA has no standards. Babus from the civil aviation ministry are routinely appointed as heads of every aviation organisation in India. They even go to ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) as Indian representatives and come back after three years. The fact that blatant violations of the ICAO rules have been taking place for several years show that they have not even learned the basics of ICAO SARPs (standard and recommending practices) and safety standards.”

Adds Capt Sanjay Singh, an instructor based in Florida, who had earlier worked for Jet Airways: “It is evident that the rapid growth of the aviation industry has resulted in widespread corruption. Obtaining licences by unfair means and getting hired with the help of influence show the pathetic state of the DGCA. This shows the lack of respect towards the regulator. The international aviation community lost faith in the DGCA. India’s aviation sector is unsafe because most of the pilots are under-trained. It is just a matter of time before something unfortunate happens.”

But in the game of big money and influence, it is the honest youth who suffer the most. “We dream of becoming pilots and undergo rigorous training,” says an aspiring pilot on the condition of anonymity. “We burn the midnight oil to clear our exams. Yet, when the results come out, our names are not on the list. We are not asking for preferential treatment. All that we are asking for is a fair chance.”

letters@tehelka.com

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