India - No end in surprises

Shunted AI flight safety chief lands plum post (India)

MUMBAI: Capt A S Soman, who was removed from the post of Air India executive director (flight safety) last week on orders from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has been awarded another top posting by the national carrier. Despite a number of cases pending against him, Capt Soman was appointed Air India executive director (training) on Wednesday.

As executive director (training), Capt Soman will wield greater powers as he would be in charge of evaluation for new recruits, pilots' promotions and career progression. "Training is the heart of flight safety. How could a man found wanting in his performance in the flight safety department be put in charge of pilot training," asked an aviation official. "Airline safety depends primarily on the quality of training imparted to its pilots," he added. AI was not available for comments.