‘AirAsia India Violates Passenger Safety,’ alleges suspended pilot

Gaurav Taneja, who also runs a popular YouTube channel called Flying Beast, on Sunday tweeted that he had been suspended by the airline “for standing up for safe operations of an aircraft and its passengers”.

New Delhi: Privately-owned low-cost carrier AirAsia India came under the eye of the aviation regulator after one of its pilots alleged grim violations of safety norms. Also Read – Middle Seats in Flights Should be Kept Vacant to ‘Possible Extent’, DGCA Issues Guidelines to Airlines

Gaurav Taneja, who also runs a popular YouTube channel called Flying Beast, on Sunday tweeted that he had been suspended by the airline “for standing up for safe operations of an aircraft and its passengers”. Subsequently, he posted a detailed video regarding the same on his YouTube channel. Also Read – Beware of Locust Swarm as Air Intake Ports Can be Blocked: DGCA Issues Notice to Pilots

His video went viral across social media platforms, AirAsia customers writing about how their experiences were relatable to Taneja’s narration. This forced the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to take up against AirAsia’s actions. Also Read – Domestic Flight: From Check-in Baggage to Mandatory Aarogya Setu App- Here Are The New Rules You Should Keep in Mind Before Entering Airport on May 25

The pilot claimed that the airline asked its pilots to do 98 per cent of landings in “Flap 3” mode in order to save fuel and that if anyone does not do it, the airline considers it a violation of its standard operating procedure (SOP).

Taneja went on to explain how, in certain cases, “Flap 3” landing becomes extremely difficult and puts the lives of crew and passengers at danger. He gave the example of Imphal airport and said when an aircraft is coming down steeply, it needs to have a drag so that it remains slow, and in such circumstances, a pilot has to do a “Flap full” landing.

“In order to achieve targets, what would people do? They will do Flap 3 landings without giving consideration whether it is safe or unsafe. This directly impacts the passenger safety,” he said in his video.

As a result, the DGCA took note of the complaints raised by a number of stakeholders and started an investigation into the flagged issues. The aviation regulator said it will “take appropriate action based on the outcome of the said investigation”.

However, AirAsia India has not issued any statement on the incident or responded to requests made. www.india.com