DGCA suspends license of MP-based aviation operator after air crash

New Delhi: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Thursday said it has suspended the license of Belagavi Aviation and Sports Enterprises based in Guna, Madhya Pradesh. 
This comes after a Cessna 152 aircraft registered as VT-BBB crash landed during a test flight on August 11 due to engine failure. “The said aircraft, after maintenance with an overhauled engine, was on its first flight. The engine was overhauled at the DGCA-approved facility of M/s International Aircraft Sales Pvt. Ltd., Bhopal,” the aviation regulatory body said in a statement.
“In view of the significant safety concerns, the maintenance organization approved of M/s International Aircraft Sales Pvt. Ltd. has been suspended with immediate effect,” it added. 
The DGCA said that it had conducted a special audit of M/s International Aircraft Sales Pvt. Ltd. immediately after the accident. 
“The findings of the audit raised serious concerns on the maintenance standards being followed by the organisation,” DGCA stated. 
The DGCA had last year suspended operations at all bases of Red Bird Flight Training Academy Pvt. Ltd. after a series of incidents involving its aircraft and was restored only after a complete recertification of their maintenance facilities. 
It should be noted that on August 20, another trainer aircraft, also a Cessna 152, went missing after taking off from the Sonari aerodrome in Jamshedpur, following which a mega search operation was launched in the nearby areas, including the reservoir of the dam, to locate the missing instructor and trainee pilot. 
The aircraft of Alchemist Aviation Pvt Ltd lost contact with the Jamshedpur Air traffic control and crashed into the dam 15-20 minutes after taking off from the Sonari airport.
A team of navy personnel and the National Disaster Response Force reportedly recovered the body of the trainee pilot from Jharkhand’s Chandil Dam on Thursday.