Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Flying schools playing with lives?

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The death of two trainee pilots and a flying instructor from Kerala in accidents in the Philippines has raised concern about the quality of training in flying schools in that country and safety of their training aircraft.

The death of Kaushik Mohan, 26, of Edavakkode, near Kariyam, here, on Saturday has led to charges of fleecing of Indian students and sub-standard training.

The accident involving a Cessna 150 aircraft took place near the runway of the Plaridel airfield at Barangay Agnaya Plaridel in Bulacan city, north of Manila. Kaushik, who had logged 120 hours of the required 200 hours of flying, was a trainee at Fliteline Aviation School, a private institute.

Hundreds of youth from India have joined flying schools in the Philippines. Chandan, a trainee pilot from Attingal and roommate of Kaushik, said 15 Keralites were in his school.

Kaushik’s father, R.M.K. Nair, said the fee demanded was $ 36,500 (about Rs. 14 lakh) for a seven-month package of 200 hours. “As he could not go on the exact date, they demanded $ 40,000 and we had paid it in four equal instalments,” he said.

T.K.R. Nair, former Chief Instructor of Trivandrum Flying Club, told The Hindu that the accident had exposed the “sub-standard training” provided to those enrolling to get a “quick” commercial pilot licence to cater to the needs of the aviation industry.

He said the information reaching here had revealed that the ill-fated Cessna 150 had been idle for the past one year and the instructor, Mike Bernardo, who was also killed, was not experienced enough. “The flying time has been reduced to 200 hours and the training period to seven months. In India, it will take one year even in the best flying schools in Chennai and Puducherry,” he said.

Capt. T.K.R. Nair said the licence from the Philippines was not valid in India. Those obtaining licence from there would have to undergo a flying test and a ground test in India again, and it would take another six months.

Moreover, multi-engine endorsement was not offered by flying schools in the Philippines. He said pilot aspirants would have to bear an additional expenditure for getting an endorsement.

Aviation sources said many airline managements in the country were not happy with the performance of pilots trained in the Philippines. Many are not up to the mark and are badly trained, they said.

Capt. T.K.R. Nair said the demand for pilots had come down over the past few months with many getting licence. The government-controlled Rajiv Gandhi Aviation Academy here was offering the course at Rs. 14 lakh.

Kaushik’s father has a word of caution to all pilot aspirants and their parents: “Do not go to the Philippines.”

Last week, Kiran G. Panicker, 23, a flying instructor hailing from Kollam and attached to a Philippines-based flying school, was killed when the training aircraft crashed into the sea at Subie Freeport City. In July last, Varsha Gopinath, 18, a trainee pilot from Eenchakkal, and two others were killed after the Cessna aircraft flown by her was involved in a mid-air collision near Plaridel airfield.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Plea to modernise State Fire and Rescue Services
Devaswom board row takes a new turn
Waiver to complement State initiative
Six injured in clash at temple
Promise to tackle water shortage
Lightning causes damage
Flying schools playing with lives?
Career switch turned fatal
Maudany hospitalised
Man drowned
Fear of Islam akin to racism: journalist
Date extended
Thiruvananthapuram today

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu