In the past week alone, two of the academy’s training aircraft crashed in Baramati near Pune.<\/p>\n
On October 19, one person suffered minor injuries after a training aircraft experienced an engine-related snag and loss of power, leading to a crash.<\/p>\n
In another incident on October 22, two occupants of a training aircraft sustained injuries after the plane made an emergency landing due to a loss of power.<\/p>\n
Redbird has training bases spread across India and overseas in locations, such as Baramati (Maharashtra), Lilabari (Lakhimpur, Assam), Gulbarga (Karnataka), Belagavi (Karnataka), Seoni (Madhya Pradesh), and Colombo (Sri Lanka).<\/p>\n
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This is not the first time the DGCA has cracked down on flight training academies in the country.<\/p>\n
In March 2022, the civil aviation regulator ordered a safety audit of all 30 flying training organisations (FTOs) after two training aircraft were involved in separate non-fatal accidents.<\/p>\n
One accident occurred in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, when the pilot of an aircraft allegedly forgot to open the landing gear.<\/p>\n
The second plane crash-landed on the runway in Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh, last year.<\/p>\n
In an audit completed in June last year, the DGCA found FTOs violating multiple safety regulations.<\/p>\n
It observed that facilities at FTOs were not being maintained as per requirements — the runway surface was worn out, wind socks were torn or non-standard, and testing equipment was either not in compliance with requirements or not calibrated as required.<\/p>\n
The regulator also found that pre-flight alcohol test regulations were not followed at multiple FTOs.<\/p>\n
Based on these findings, it issued suspension orders to two certified flying instructors for a year, two for three months, one deputy CFI for a year, two deputy CFIs for three months, one assistant flying instructor for three months, and one student for three months.<\/p>\n
In August of the same year, Redbird Flight Training Academy partnered with European aircraft manufacturer Airbus to provide pilot training to its students on A320 aircraft.<\/p>\n
Under this partnership, Airbus was to deliver both theory and full flight simulator sessions for its jet orientation course (JOC) and multi-crew cockpit co-operation (MCC) to academy students.<\/p>\n
Airbus did not respond to queries from Business Standard until the time of going to press.<\/p>\n
In November 2022, DGCA had issued a circular instructing flight training schools to install cameras and monitor flight data.<\/p>\n
This action was taken to enhance surveillance of these training institutes and curb malpractices that were detected during the safety audit conducted in March.<\/p>\n
As of July 2023, India had 36 FTOs operating at 57 bases.<\/p>\n
The government aims to promote and regulate training infrastructure for India’s civil aviation sector to make the country a global flight training hub and prevent Indian cadets from seeking training at foreign academies.<\/p>\n
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) awarded nine FTO slots at five airports — at Belagavi (Karnataka), Jalgaon (Maharashtra), Kalaburagi (Karnataka), Khajuraho (Madhya Pradesh), and Lilabari (Assam) in 2021. In 2022, six FTO slots were awarded by the AAI at five airports — two slots at Bhavnagar (Gujarat), and one each at Hubballi (Karnataka), Kadapa (Andhra Pradesh), Kishangarh (Rajasthan), and Salem (Tamil Nadu).<\/p>\n