DGCA grounds 11 GMR pilots for violation of safety rules

Most-recent 'violation' when Rahul Gandhi was on flight; GMR denies lapses

Even as the regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), grounded 11 pilots and six cabin crew members of GMR Aviation for three months for not clearing the mandatory pre-flight breath analyser tests, the operator on Wednesday denied the charges.

While DGCA said flying records of GMR Aviation between March 12 and April 14 showed false pre-flight medical tests as the machine used was unserviceable during the period, the operator said only the printer of the device was malfunctioning and the doctor had done the tests using digital readings.

The most-recent alleged violation on the part of the operator was found on Monday when Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi flew from Delhi to Bhubaneswar in GMR's luxury Falcon 2000-Lx. DGCA shot a showcause notice to GMR Aviation on Tuesday asking why action should not be taken against it for falsifying pre-flight breath analyser tests. The regulator also issued showcause notices to the pilots, asking them why their licences should not be suspended for five years. It has filed a First Information Report (FIR) against the company doctor who allegedly falsified records.

A DGCA official said, "We are writing to the Delhi Medical Council for cancelling his licence."

A GMR Aviation spokesperson said, "The breath analyser has been working perfectly except its printer during the entire period mentioned in the DGCA notice. The doctor incharge has certified flight/cabin crew for all flights during the reference period on the basis of digital readings exhibited by the machine. No breath analyser tests have been skipped/falsified by crew/doctor. Due to a technical snag, printed reports of the tests could not be generated during the period. We are filing a written response to the showcause notice and we hope the DGCA will reinstate the flight/cabin crew at the earliest."