While travel resumption, flight launches, and mega aircraft orders paint a somewhat bright picture of Indian aviation, something else was observed in the last few days. Three separate incidents of pilot deaths in quick succession, two of which involved Indian pilots, have fueled a larger discussion on relentless pilot schedules and the fatigue that comes with it.
Pilot deaths
On August 16th, a Qatar Airways aircraft flying from Delhi to Doha had to be diverted to Dubai, as a 51-year-old senior officer at Qatar Airways from India fell ill during the flight and was later declared dead.
This happened around the same time when a captain in command of a LATAM Airlines flight operating from Miami International Airport bound for Santiago de Chile in Chile sadly passed away after becoming unwell mid-flight.
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Then, on August 17th, a 40-year-old IndiGo captain collapsed at Nagpur Airport at the boarding gate shortly before his flight to Pune. All three pilots were in seemingly good health, and their deaths came as a shock to everyone who knew them.
But the tragic Nagpur incident sparked a wider discussion within the aviation circle and outside of it about the challenges associated with erratic schedules that many Indian pilots claim they go through and the toll it takes on their health and well-being.
Pilots are concerned
The death of the IndiGo pilot was quite unsettling for many other pilots in India, and there are now reports that hundreds of commercial pilots are planning to form an association to challenge the flying schedules they are put through.
Many have come forward, particularly on social media, with personal stories and highlighting a growing trend of pushing the rules and meeting minimum requirements to operate an aircraft. Reuters reported that a retired vice president at IndiGo named Captain Shakti Lumba has received the support of hundreds of Indian pilots to raise awareness about pilot fatigue and come up with a mechanism to lodge complaints. Lumba was quoted as saying,
“The main focus of the group will be compliance with international standards and recommended practices, flight safety and pilot fatigue - which is a clear and present danger to (the) safety of aircraft operations in India.”
DGCA to review fatigue data
Pilot fatigue isn’t unique to India. Aviation authorities around the world have put together rules and regulations to ensure pilots enter the cockpit well-rested and capable of handling flight controls.
According to the US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA), program managers may not assign crew members for more than eight hours of flight time for one pilot or 10 hours for two. At the same time, a whole duty period cannot exceed 14 hours, and all crew members should receive a minimum rest time of 10 hours before and after each duty period.
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In India, rules do not differentiate between day and night flights, and pilots can be on duty for 13 hours within a 24-hour span. But according to Reuters, India’s aviation regulator, the DGCA, has initiated a review of pilot fatigue data following the recent incidents. The report quotes an official in the know as saying,
“The regulator will go to a granular level … Whatever systemic intervention is needed, the regulator will make robust changes. It is an outcome oriented exercise and the watchdog is open to take all steps.”
Hopefully, the DGCA’s probe into the matter will address the issues that many pilots have so far been discussing under hushed tones and help find solutions to prevent further incidents.
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With inputs from Reuters