Karachi PIA plane crash: National airline grounds 141 pilots with 'suspicious licenses'


Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Pakistan's national carrier, has informed foreign ambassadors and international aviation watchdogs that all 141 pilots with suspected PIA licenses have been grounded.

PIA CEO Air Marshal Arshad Malik has informed all the ambassadors and international watchdogs in a letter about the steps taken in this regard.

A statement issued here said that out of 141 pilots with suspicious PIA licenses, 17 pilots were already suspended but the remaining pilots have now been grounded.

PIA has also released the names of all the 141 pilots.

Earlier, the Ministry of Aviation had released a list of 262 pilots. The aviation ministry says the Pakistani pilots have suspicious licenses.

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Of the 262 pilots, 141 are affiliated with Pakistan's national airline, PIA, nine private airlines are Air Blue and ten are operating at Surin Air.

The Ministry of Aviation says that on average, one-third of Pakistan's pilots have suspicious licenses.

It may be recalled that while presenting the preliminary report of the crash of Pakistan National Airlines in the month of May in Parliament on June 24, Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan had revealed that the licenses of several pilots in Pakistan were fake.

Image copyright EPA
His remarks raised concerns around the world, as PIA flights also operate on a number of international routes.

Ghulam Sarwar informed the parliament that there are 860 licensed commercial pilots in Pakistan whose verification of licenses was a long process. He said that the matter was investigated according to which the licenses of 262 pilots are doubtful.

The aviation minister said that several pilots claimed to have obtained their licenses by giving papers on holidays while some pilots admitted that their licenses were fake.

"All such pilots will be charged and disciplinary action has been taken against them. Criminal cases will also be registered against the pilots with fake licenses," he added.

Journalist Tahir Imran had tried a few days ago to explain what it means to have a fake pilot's degree and what it means to have a fake license.

What does a fake license mean? And when did this series begin?
Fake licenses do not mean that pilots who are part of this list do not know about aircraft or do not know how to fly.

In fact, the new test system introduced for pilots in 2012 has raised questions about the qualifications of these pilots.

Prior to 2012, all of these pilots were licensed and qualified. At the same time, they still have a license issued by Pakistan Civil Aviation, which is very original and certified.

But there is a question mark over the test as a result of which it has been issued.

Image copyright BLOOMBERG
So in this crime, the civil aviation and especially its licensing department is more suspicious than the pilots who issued licenses to these pilots for any reason as a result of these allegedly dubious tests.

The important point here is that where the fake licenses of these pilots are mentioned, there is no mention at all as to who issued these licenses and why.

It may be recalled that these examinations are conducted in the office of Civil Aviation on the computers of Civil Aviation under the supervision of Civil Aviation under the system of Civil Aviation.

They are also checked by the people of civil aviation, the numbers are the same, pass and fail are also done by them and then the license is also issued by the civil aviation after drawing the result.

What about fake degrees? Do I need to be a pilot to be a pilot?
Fake degrees have little to do with becoming an international pilot, and there are and have been a few people in the world who were illiterate but got licenses and kept flying.

Many of the PIA pilots who were fired by the PIA on the basis of degrees are working in Saudi Arabia or other countries. One of them is the famous case of cricketer Waqar Younis's brother Faisal Younis.

Everyone agrees that the degree is related to the human resource rules of every airline and the basic issue is moral fraud and not lack of education.

But many experts say that in a profession that depends on honesty and extreme sense of responsibility, how can you move forward based on lies.