Francis Ogwo
Pakistani aviation workers especially engineers and ground handling staff in Oman, Kuwait and Vietnam have been grounded following the discovery of over 161 fake pilots operating in the Pakistani aviation.
This was recently disclosed by Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan, as a probe digs into the worrisome issue.
The findings were revealed after an investigation was led into a PIA plane crash in Karachi last month that killed nearly 100 people.
According to the Pakistan Minister, over 30 percent of civilian pilots in Pakistan, which is about 1 in every 3, are not qualified to fly and armed with fake licenses.
While addressing the national assembly, the minister said that over 260 pilots in Pakistan had paid someone else to take exams on their behalf.
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has grounded all its pilots with fake licenses with immediate effect as the country has over 850 active pilots serving various domestic airlines, including the country’s flagship airline, PIA, and other foreign carriers.
Khan, on Wednesday, told Parliament that the pilots of the PIA plane that crashed on May 22 were not focussed during the flight, news agency, PTI, reported.
He pointed out their “overconfidence and lack of concentration” as some of the reasons for the tragedy that killed 97 people on board.
“The pilot ignored the instructions of the air traffic controllers and the ATC, on the other hand, did not inform the pilot about the engine colliding.
“The pilots were discussing corona throughout the flight. They were not focussed. They talked about corona virus and their families were affected. When the control tower asked him to increase the plane’s height, the pilot said ‘I’ll manage’. There was overconfidence,” Khan told the national assembly on Wednesday while presenting the interim investigation report on the plane crash.
According to reports, Kuwait Air has grounded seven Pakistani pilots and 56 engineers, while Qatar Airways, Oman Air and Vietnam Airlines have compiled lists of Pakistani pilots, engineers and ground-handling staff. They said that the employees whose names are on the lists will remain grounded till a report is received from the Pakistani authorities.
The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has written to foreign missions and global regulatory and safety bodies, assuring them it has grounded all 141 pilots suspected of obtaining licences through unfair means, a spokesperson for the national flag carrier said here on Saturday.
Experts say the decision was to entrench safety in the sector as the government had asked various commercial airlines, flying clubs and charter companies to ground a total of 262 pilots until investigations into their qualifications were completed.
The action was prompted by a preliminary report on the crash of a PIA aircraft in Karachi last month, which found that pilots had failed to follow standard procedures. Global safety and transport bodies expressed concern over the alleged “dubious” licences and said they were looking into the matter.
The PIA spokesperson said the letter, signed by PIA Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Arshad Malik, had been sent to all heads of foreign missions in Pakistan as well as international aviation regulators and safety monitoring agencies. Malik had also informed the aviation ministry about the flight safety measures.
“It is also ensured that pilots flying PIA flights are having genuine licences endorsed by the government of Pakistan and are in physical possession of the same during all domestic and international flights,” said a copy of the letter sent to the US Embassy in Islamabad, seen by Reuters.
The PIA flights cover a number of international routes, including the ones leading to the United States, Britain and Europe. The letter promised that the airline would remain compliant with all international aviation safety and regulatory standards.
The 262 pilots – 109 commercial and 153 airline transport pilots – were grounded on Friday, pending conclusion of inquiries against them. They included 141 from PIA, nine from Air Blue, 10 from Serene Airline, and 17 from Shaheen Airlines, which has closed down, Abdullah Khan said.
Recall that the country was thrown into mourning recently when the Airbus A320 aircraft from Lahore to Karachi, crashed in a residential area near the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi on May 22. It was carrying 91 passengers and a crew of eight aboard before it crashed into the Jinnah Garden area near Model Colony in Malir, minutes before landing.
