India has poor aviation safety standards, says expert

NEW DELHI - India has poor aviation safety standards and accidents like Saturday’s crash near Mangalore are bound to occur if these are not improved, said Captain M.R. Wadia, founder president of the Federation of Indian Pilots.

Reacting to the Mangalore air crash that killed 158 people, Wadia said the country needs to focus on improving safety standards in the aviation sector.

“According to the Flight Safety Foundation figures, India has the highest rate of aviation accidents in the world. But the sad part is that still we do not have specialists in aviation safety,” said Wadia.

He said the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) controls air safety but it also doesn’t have an independent safety board.

“All countries in the world have an independent safety board. But despite having so many accidents we don’t have a safety board as yet. Even several government-appointed committees have recommended an independent safety board,” Wadia said.

“We have made representations to the government time and again to improve safety standards but it has refrained from implementing them,” he said.

The Air India Express passenger plane flying from Dubai overshot the runway after landing at the Mangalore airport, killing 158 people. Only eight people survived.