Plain Way To Make Planes Safe

Airlines train too few maintenance engineers, even as aviation grows. DGCA must change that

- Jitendra Singh Rawat

In an order issued to a budget airline this Wednesday, the safety regulator not only curbed its schedule of operations but also decided to maintain an enhanced surveillance over its flights during this curtailed schedule period. This follows the rising incidence of aircraft snags in the past few months, which has left passengers worried whether airlines are maintaining their fleet properly.

Flyers’ fears were earlier stoked by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issuing a safety directive to all the airlines. Its spot checks found certain common concerns across airlines, from shortcomings in maintenance SOPs to a shortage of trained manpower to check and certify aircraft before each takeoff, especially in light of the increase in flights post Omicron.

Maintenance works on three primary pillars – qualified personnel, equipment and tools, and spare parts. A compromise in any of these areas for reasons like poor financials can degrade overall maintenance standards.

The beauty of the aviation industry is that it has in-built checks and balances and any improvement or degradation in the system may not be visible immediately. But rising incidence of snags is a warning sign to take corrective steps before failures start surfacing.

One of the primary checks in the area of airworthiness is the daily snag and defect monitoring mechanism. DGCA officials are required to attend airlines’ quality control system meetings. Since conducting these meetings is primarily the responsibility of airlines’ quality assurance departments, it is essential for the regulator to effectively monitor the same.