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India's great plane data CRASH: Aviation regulator loses all info related to pilots and aircraft safety after massive server crash

• The loss occurred following a massive software crash in August 2015
• Aviation experts say loss of flight data at such a massive scale may have serious implications not only on passenger safety but also on national security

• The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the regulatory body entrusted with air safety operations in the country, has disclosed that its entire data set pertaining to safety and security of planes and pilots has been lost.

The loss occurred following a massive software crash in August 2015.

Aviation experts say loss of flight data at such a massive scale may have serious implications not only on passenger safety but also on national security.

Aviation experts say loss of flight data at such a massive scale may have serious implications not only on passenger safety but also on national security

International airports across the world are treated as high-security zones in the wake of rising terror incidents.

'The servers crashed in August 2015 and all information regarding the list of commercial pilot licence holders registered with the DGCA and type rating test (TRT) certified pilots registered with the DGCA got destroyed,' the aviation regulator said in response to an RTI filed by activist Anil Sood.

Mail Today has a copy of the RTI reply. Explaining the software crash and the aftermath, a senior DGCA official told Mail Today: 'The data was on NIC (national informatics centre) server, which crashed about two years ago and thus the data got destroyed.

'NIC could not recover that data. We do possess some of the records in the physical form. However, under our program eDGCA, only the current renewals and issuance of new licenses are digitised now.'

The central information commission too, in its observation to the RTI, mentioned that this was an appalling state of affairs in respect of record keeping by the respondent public authority, especially when it concerns national security and safety of passengers.

International airports across the world are treated as high-security zones in the wake of rising terror incidents (file pic)

Security

The commission also advised the DGCA to be more diligent in maintain its sensitive data.

'In the interest of the safety and security, not only of the passengers but also in the larger national interest, the DGCA is advised to maintain data in respect of all the pilots in different categories licensed by the public authority in a digitised format,' the information commissioner stated.

India has about 11 critical airfields, where, according to DGCA rules, only TRT certified pilots are allowed for take-offs and landings.

These airports include Mangalore airport, Leh Kushok Bakula Rimpochee airport, Kullu Manali airport, Shimla airport, Agartala airport, Port Blair, Calicut, Lengpui at Aizawl (Mizoram), Patna, Jammu and Latur airport.

India witnessed two major air crashes at Mangalore and Patna airport. The Mangalore crash of May 22, 2010 is classified among the top 10 deadliest air crashes in the last decade that led to the death of 158 passengers on board.


India has about 11 critical airfields, where, according to DGCA rules, only TRT certified pilots are allowed for take-offs and landings (file pic)

In the second incident, on July 17, 2000, 60 people were killed when Alliance Air Flight 7412 crashed near Patna airport prior to landing.

'In absence of digital data, anybody can use the identity of another pilot by merely replacing a photograph,' said Capt Mohan Ranganathan, civil aviation expert.

'Logging of duty time and flying hours can be fuzzed, if there is no digital backup.'

Experts say loss of data is a cause of grave concerns in the wake of several cases of irregularities including flight operations by the pilots.

'These data are important as it involves not only the safety and security of passengers but in the national interest as well.

In common parlance, we can say that this is akin to driving licence portfolios missing from the record of a transport authority,' said a civil aviation expert, requesting anonymity.