Form high-level committee to review systemic failures: Parl panel to MoCA

Parliamentary panel flags systemic failures, rising defects and staff shortages, urges Civil Aviation Ministry to conduct root-cause review within 90 days

A Parliamentary panel on Wednesday recommended the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) constitute an independent high-level committee to review systemic safety failures in India’s aviation sector, citing recurring technical defects, multiple accidents, and capacity constraints at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

 

In a report tabled in the Rajya Sabha, the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture said recent aviation incidents and audit findings “indicate systemic rather than episodic failures in the aviation safety architecture”.

 

"The Ahmedabad crash of June 12, 2025, in which Air India Flight AI171 crashed shortly after take-off, killing 260 people, the air ambulance crash in Chatra, Jharkhand, on February 23, 2026, killing seven people, the Baramati chartered plane crash of January 28, 2026, mass flight cancellations in December 2025, and persistent flight delays have exposed systemic fragilities that extend well beyond individual airline failures," the report stated.

   

The committee proposed that the MoCA set up a panel comprising experts from the DGCA, Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), airline operators, international safety bodies, and independent technical specialists to conduct a root-cause analysis of safety lapses during 2025–26. It recommended that the MoCA panel submit its findings within 90 days.

 

The observations come against the backdrop of multiple safety concerns flagged by the committee. It noted that the DGCA has 843 personnel against a sanctioned strength of 1,630, leaving “a vacancy rate of 48.3 per cent, with 787 posts lying vacant”. While the MoCA maintained that the “shortfall has not impacted surveillance plans”, the committee said this claim is “difficult to reconcile with the expanding regulated entity universe”.

 

The Parliamentary panel also pointed to a DGCA audit of 754 commercial aircraft between January 2025 and February 2026, which found that 377 aircraft — “nearly half the fleet reviewed” — had recurring technical defects.

 

Among airlines, 137 of 166 Air India aircraft inspected showed repeated defects, while Air India Express reported 54 out of 101 aircraft with persistent technical issues.

 

Referring to a July 2025 DGCA audit of Air India following the Ahmedabad crash, the committee said it flagged “approximately 100 safety lapses including seven Level 1 violations requiring urgent remediation”. These included gaps in recurrent pilot training, instances of insufficient cabin crew on international flights, and breaches of flight duty time limitations.

 

“The committee observed that these findings, combined with the 48.3 per cent vacancy rate, raise fundamental questions about whether the regulator has the capacity to ensure adequate surveillance,” the report said.

 

The panel also recommended the creation of a “real-time, integrated safety monitoring system” linking the DGCA, airlines, and maintenance agencies, with regular public disclosure of key safety indicators to address risks arising from “delayed and fragmented oversight”.