Air safety is paramount, and politicians should not be allowed to pressure ATC officers
Air safety is paramount, and politicians should not be allowed to pressure ATC officers
Incident, on August 31, in which two BJP MPs, Nishikant Dubey and Manoj Tiwari, and their entourage have been accused of obtaining ‘forced take-off clearance’ from air traffic control (ATC) at Deogarh airport near sunset . The ‘tail-scraping’ for their flight in Jharkhand is a matter of established air safety norms. The politicians – they were in the state to meet the family members of a minor girl in Dumka who was set ablaze by a poacher on 23 August – are told at 5.25 pm on a chartered flight back to Delhi. Arrived at the airport. Twin-engine business jet. Based on complaints from the airport security in-charge and Deogarh Deputy Commissioner, it is alleged that the ATC was forced to give permission for the flight, resulting in the registration of an FIR against the MPs and others by the Jharkhand Police. Various sections of the Indian Penal Code such as ‘endangering life or personal safety’ have been invoked. Mr Dubey in turn filed an FIR against the Deputy Commissioner in Delhi and the Jharkhand Police, which, oddly enough, booked him under Section 124A (sedition). At this point, air safety experts agree, that the clutter must be removed and the core issue of flight safety should be firmly brought to mind.
Deogarh, as per data available in the Aeronautical Information publication, is still a Visual Flight Rules (VFR) airport, and night operations are not permitted. In addition, point 3 under ‘En-Route-1.2 Visual Flight Rules’ states that “VFR flights shall not be operated from 20 minutes after sunset to 20 minutes before sunrise, except when air traffic for local flights Exempted by controls….” , the principle being that airspace should be available in the event of an emergency after take-off under VFR conditions. It is to be noted that the sunset at Deogarh was at 6.03 pm and the flight departed at 6.17 pm, due to the difficulties the crew could face at such an airport in the event of an emergency, such as a bird collision or an engine Fail, need not elaborate – avian life is active at twilight and Jharkhand is known as a bird-rich place. Other airports in the area available for diversion are also not close by. Additionally, being one of the politicians part of a committee set up by the Ministry of Civil Aviation attempting to push the limits of safety is unacceptable. The episode also throws light on the pressures faced by air traffic controllers and officials especially at small airports in India. As a member of the International Civil Aviation Organization and bound by its stringent regulations, India must ensure that the directives are followed and a thorough and impartial investigation is conducted with fines by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and the Ministry of Civil Aviation . Politics should stop.