The committee on aviation safety has said that in most important airports the handling of aircraft movement is grossly inadequate and needs to be enhanced on a war footing.

According to its report, ``The present organisation of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is unsuitable and inadequate for its responsibilities, which have increased considerably during the past 15 years.''

The committee headed by Air Marshall J K Seth had as other members the CMD Indian Airlines P.C. Sen, Airports Authority of India (AAI) Chairman R. Chatterjee and DGCA H.S. Khola. The report was submitted to the Minister of Civil Aviation C.M. Ibrahim last week.

It has also been recommended that the investigation of flying accidents/incidents should be taken out of DGCA's responsibility and entrusted to an independent body of experts with vast practical experience of aviation.

It may be named as `Accident Investigation Bureau' and be an integral but functionally independent part of the Civil Aviation Board.

The focus of accident investigation should be shifted from punishment to re-training and education, except in cases of gross indiscipline or recklessness. The committee also recommended that there should be a `confidential reporting system' for aviation personnel to point out safety hazards experienced or observed by them, along with suggestions for their remedy. The practice of suspension of licenses pending investigation should be stopped.

In order to enhance safety senior executive pilots in airlines should fly much lesser than line pilots in order that they adequately attend to their management functions. Duty time limits and mandatory rest periods for pilots and air traffic controllers should be reviewed scientifically to establish the linkage between extended duty periods, the build up of fatigue and the degradation in decision-making.

The committee has recommended that the DGCA should be converted into a fully autonomous eight-member body called the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), with a 40 per cent increase in the authorised strength of officers for effective monitoring of airworthiness and licensing activities.

The number of joint Directors-General in it may be increased from three to four, the additional incumbent being an IAS/IAAS officer responsible for `finance and administration'.

The DG and these four joint DG's should comprise the whole-time members of CAA's executive council who should be appointed by the government without any change in the present process of selection and appointment.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.