The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has submitted an investigation report before the Supreme Court, revealing a web of mismanagement, irregularities and corruption in the process of pilot examinations.
The report said that the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) had provided incorrect information to around 30 pilots, while adding that several pilots send someone else to take the exams in their places, reported The Express Tribune. Two pilots were not present in the country, while 28 pilots took the pilots test on a closed weekly holiday.
Meanwhile, the licences of two senior joint directors, involved in corruption by giving the pilots illegal access to the examination system, have been revoked, said the report. The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has also registered criminal cases against them.
The CAA has informed Pakistan's Supreme Court that the licences of at least 32 out of 54 pilots have been suspended for being involved in fraudulent practices.
According to The Express Tribune, the issue surfaced last year after the May 22 PIA plane crash in Karachi, which killed 97 passengers and crew. The cause of the accident was called a 'human error'.
It was later revealed in June that 262 pilots had fake licences.
"People with fake degrees were appointed on political basis, ignoring merit," Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar had told the National Assembly on June 22, 2020.
( With inputs from ANI )
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