India Checking All Pilots' Licenses After Finding Fakes

At least four found to be using fake documents
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Mar 14, 2011 10:12 AM CDT
India Checking All Pilots' Licenses After Finding Fakes
Air India aircrafts stand parked at the international airport in Mumbai, India, Wednesday, May 26, 2010.   (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

Indian authorities have begun checking the licenses of all 4,000 commercial airline pilots in the country after at least four were found to be flying using fake documents, a top civil aviation official says. Two pilots were arrested last week for using fake certificates to gain licenses, including a pilot with national carrier Air India who falsified his qualifications. The other two pilots were being investigated for irregularities in their flying licenses.

"Fake licenses are very few so there is no need to panic," the official says. Opposition lawmakers accused the government of failing to check corruption in granting licenses and endangering the lives of thousands of travelers. Meanwhile, the civil aviation minister told Parliament last week that authorities had taken action against 57 pilots who reported for duty drunk over the past two years. (More India stories.)

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