It also slammed Carver CEO Carvalho: “...He is responsible for all the episodes and cannot absolve himself from the responsibilities of an accountable manager...he failed to control the activities of his academy.”

Despite this, on January 11, the Ministry over-ruled the DGCA: “The investigation report has been examined along with the representation made by Carver Aviation Academy and it has been decided that suspension of flying training approval of the Academy may be revoked.” This directive, signed by Under Secretary S R Parasher ends with, “This has the approval of Honourable Minister of Civil Aviation (Praful Patel).”

Ironically, in the same note, the Ministry acknowledges the irregularities at Carver Academy and asks the DGCA to “ensure a strict monitoring system to avoid recurrence of such malpractices, not only in Carver Aviation Academy, but in all other flying training institutes.”

A letter was also sent to the academy instructing it to “ensure that monitoring systems proposed are strictly adhered to so that there are no complaints of malpractices in future.”

When asked about the Ministry’s move to over-rule the DGCA’s findings, DGCA chief Kanu Gohain told The Sunday Express: “The DGCA investigations were done by an independent committee but when the Ministry issues us instructions to revoke the suspension of authorisation, we have to listen to their instructions.”

He added that the DGCA was taking “very serious” note of the lapses and was in the process of putting warning stickers on the licences of the pilots, many of whom are said to have already landed jobs as full-fledged pilots. The DGCA has enough reason to.

... contd.