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New Delhi, Sept. 7: The US aviation regulator has ruled out holding an immediate safety evaluation of its Indian counterpart, the DGCA, but has expressed concern over reports about air safety in the country.
According to an official statement of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), its concern was based on media reports in India on the current civil aviation scenario.
The FAA’s Flight Standard Office had last month written to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and indicated that if it was established that the regulator’s oversight had been compromised, necessary consultation process would start towards conducting a global safety assessment of the Indian regulator.
In a report in July, the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation said: “It is disappointing to note that the focus on safety, which emerged in the aftermath of the Mangalore accident in May 2010, has evaporated... Incident and operational data analysis is poor and an independent accident investigation bureau or a safety board are yet to be established.”
The international safety assessment is carried out to examine the capabilities of an aviation regulator. If the DGCA is found lacking, its status can be downgraded and measures such as halting all flights by Indian carriers can be taken
At present, India is placed in category 1, which is the safest aviation category.
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