Reform cannot wait, aviation safety is at stake, Pg6

Key Highlights:

• Preliminary report on the June 2025 Air India crash in Ahmedabad is inconclusive, raising questions on investigation credibility.
• Systemic issues include flawed regulation, unsafe airspace, compromised airworthiness, and poor working conditions for crew and engineers.
• Courts have intervened through Public Interest Litigations (PILs) to halt hazardous constructions near airports.
• Over 1,000 vertical obstacles now violate aviation safety norms around Mumbai airport.
• Key regulatory failure lies in the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA).
• Judiciary must actively oversee aviation safety and re-evaluate how human life is valued in compensation mechanisms.

Detailed Insights:

• Loss of Trust in Investigations: The aviation safety ecosystem lacks transparency and credibility, especially from the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB).
• Swiss Cheese Model of Failures: Aviation accidents result from multiple aligned failures — not just pilot error but also infrastructure, regulation, and systemic loopholes.
• Lack of Mental Health Support: Air crew face psychological stress with punitive outcomes for mental health disclosures, which undermines safety.
• Regulatory Complicity: Height restrictions around airports were bypassed post-2008, with ICAO studies misused and oversight diluted by statutory legitimisation in 2015.
• Operational Risks Across India: Even greenfield airports like Navi Mumbai and Noida face obstacle-induced runway compromises, such as displaced thresholds.
• Technical Capacity Deficits: DGCA is over-reliant on foreign regulators like FAA and EASA for certifying aircraft and engines.
• Pilot and Crew Exploitation: Airlines routinely violate Flight Time Duty Limitations (FTDL); DGCA’s NOC requirement restricts pilot mobility, increasing coercive conditions.
• AME and ATCO Overload: Aircraft Maintenance Engineers and Air Traffic Controllers suffer from long hours, understaffing, and lax enforcement of safety mandates.
• Whistle-blower Suppression: Reporting unsafe practices leads to transfers or terminations, deterring systemic correction.
• Judicial Oversight Needed: Despite past PIL success, judiciary now defers excessively to state technical authorities, weakening safety advocacy.

Way Forward: 

• Strengthen the independence and transparency of accident investigations by reforming the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) and ensuring public disclosure of findings.
• Modernize and empower the DGCA with greater regulatory autonomy, technical expertise, and strict oversight of both state and private operators.
• Enforce and monitor height restrictions and obstacle-free zones around airports to address rampant violation of aviation safety norms.
• Mandate mental health support and end punitive actions for disclosures among crew and engineers.

Scientific/Technical Concepts Involved:

• Swiss Cheese Model: A framework for accident causation where multiple layers of defense have inherent flaws ("holes"); accidents occur when these align.
• Displaced Threshold: A section of runway not available for landing due to obstacles, shortening effective runway length.
• Flight Time Duty Limitation (FTDL): Rules limiting how long pilots and crew can work continuously to avoid fatigue-related incidents.
• Inner Horizontal Surface (IHS): A regulatory airspace zone around airports where obstacle heights must be tightly controlled.

Mains Mock Question:

Critically examine the systemic failures in India’s aviation safety ecosystem. What reforms are necessary to ensure accountability, compliance, and long-term public safety in the aviation sector?