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DGCA's mantra
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
MUMBAI, January 2: The Director General of Civil Aviation, H S Khola has called upon airlines to enhance their quality control mechanisms in accordance with India's changing aviation scenario. Inaugurating a meeting of quality control managers of Indian Airlines today, Khola stressed the need for airline operators to interact closely with regulatory bodies in the interest of air-safety. Khola, who released the airline's updated Quality Control Manual, also called for reduction of human error, which accounts for 20 per cent of all incidents. The life of the aircraft, systems and procedures governing maintenance of aircraft, the quality of manpower and facilities available all count for passenger safety, Khola said. While there are DGCA guidelines regarding age of the aircraft which may be brought into the country, the operator must also look into the history of the aircraft and their maintenance before they can be brought in, he said. "Airlines must also review the lifespan of all aircraft components
frequently," Khola said.The DGCA also called on airlines to adopt more effective management practices so that their systems and procedures are geared to enhancing air safety. "Quality control also has to plan availability of spares as their fleets age, which results in higher requirement of spares," Khola said. He also called on airlines to ensure adequate training for their staff, particularly in the initial stages so that new technology is absorbed properly. Similarly, he called for availability of adequate infrastructure facilities. Addressing officials present at the seminar, IA's regional director P S Shetty said the airline's high degree of safety has helped it retain its market share in the face of severe competition. IA's director, engineering, S K Ghorai informed that the airline's aircraft utilisation has increased from 6 hours to 7 1/2 hours daily over the past few years. The airline has also issued a statement that it is installing the Traffic Collision Avoidance System on board all its
aircraft, though this is not stipulated by the DGCA.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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