Air Marshal A.P. Garud, Director General, Inspection & Safety, Indian Air Force in a conversation with Air Marshal (Retd) V.K. Bhatia, Senior Editor, SP’s Aviation, focused on the key result areas to improve the overall operational capabilities and flight safety record of the IAF

SP’s Aviation (SP’s): The Indian Air Force (IAF) has come a long way in improving its accident rates. However, more needs to be done to cover many more milestones. What is the present accident rate of IAF? Please explain what further steps are being taken to improve the accident statistics?

Director General, Inspection and Safety (DG (IS)): The Indian Air Force is one of the largest air forces in the world. We operate under extreme variations of topography and climate. Also, the IAF has varied aircraft inventory. In spite of these challenging factors, the IAF has been able to contain the accident rate at 0.14 per cent during the current financial year. In order to reduce accident rate, the year 2011-12 was declared as the “Year of Maintenance and Consolidation” with a focus to enhance aircraft and system serviceability. To consolidate gains from such initiative, year 2012-13 has also been brought under this novel scheme. In addition, joint quality audits have been carried out for numerous fleets and recommendations of these are under implementation. Safety audits of MiG Operational Flying Training Squadrons and enhancement of training standards of young pilots are other measures adopted to improve overall aerospace safety.

SP’s: In the past, technical defects and human error have been the major causes of accidents in the IAF. What initiatives have been taken to address these issues?

DG (IS): Technical defects and human error are being addressed in the right earnest. For technical defects, accident/incident trend analysis and flagging of fleet specific issues is being undertaken regularly to initiate remedial measures. Also, close interaction with the Indian as well as foreign original equipment manufacturers (OEMs)/overhaul agencies is continuously undertaken for accident investigations. This also facilitates identification of shortcomings in manufacturing of spares and product support that affect aerospace safety.

With regard to the reduction of human error, increased and mandatory use of simulators by aircrew to practise procedures, develop skills and handling emergencies is being ensured. Additionally, operators are educated on fleet specific issues through compendiums on accidents. Last, but not the least, flight safety capsules have been mandatorily introduced for all ab initio officers and air warriors to develop an appreciation of aerospace safety.

SP’s: In the past, absence of proper advanced jet trainer (AJT) has been considered to be a major cause of accidents, especially, amongst the younger pilots. How has the gap between basic and advanced training being bridged? Has this changed the flight safety scenario as anticipated? Please explain.

DG (IS): A major factor leading to accidents in the IAF was inadequate pre-commissioning training flying as well as lack of desired progression from basic to intermediate to advanced flying. Grounding of HPT-32 trainer aircraft, limited hours on Kiran aircraft and inordinate delay in induction of intermediate jet trainer only compounded the problem. However, with the induction of sufficient number of advanced jet trainer (Hawks) aircraft and fast track procurement of the basic trainer aircraft (Pilatus PC-7 MKII), most of these problems have been addressed and regular Stage-I training is expected to commence by July 2013. Hence, Hawks and Pilatus put together will mostly ensure adequate flying hours and desired progression.

SP’s: Bird hit has been another factor which contributed considerably to the IAF’s accident rates in the past. Could you explain as to what measures have been taken by the IAF to reduce this menace? What are the latest trends in this regard?

DG (IS): In the past, bird hits have undoubtedly resulted in accidents. The IAF has initiated many measures towards reduction of bird hits. The Ornithology Cell (OC) of Directorate of Aerospace Safety (DAS) studies bird habitats on airfields and surrounding areas and then develops modules for control of bird hazards. Services of Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, are utilised for identification of species, through DNA bar coding technology. The OC is a participative member of the National Bird Control Committee. The IAF is also in the process of procuring avian radars for bird detection and monitoring systems to minimise birdstrikes. There have been no accidents owing to bird hits since July 2009.

SP’s: It is understood that the IAF is embarking upon a project to recreate real-life aircraft accidents and make films on accident investigations a part of new flight safety initiative. Could you comment on this and explain what impact it would have on the IAF’s flight safety record?

DG (IS): The Chief of the Air Staff has directed that short films on aircraft accidents/incidents covering important causative factors be made to enhance aerospace safety awareness. This new initiative is bound to improve aerospace safety awareness and reduce potential errors.

SP’s: Mirage 2000 has a highly impressive flight safety record since induction in the 1980s. However, there were two Category-I accidents in quick succession recently. Have the problems been identified and addressed? Are there any restrictions imposed or have the Mirages been cleared for full-fledged operations?

DG (IS): The causes of the accidents were different in the two Mirage aircraft crashes. This has been deduced after defect investigation by the foreign OEM. Necessary corrective actions have been implemented. The aircraft are being cleared for unrestricted operations in a phased manner.

SP’s: A large number of IAF combat and transport aircraft fleets are undergoing midlife upgrades to improve their operational capabilities. Will these upgrades have a positive impact on their flight safety records? Please explain.

DG (IS): Yes, it is true that a large number of aircraft are undergoing midlife upgrades. These upgrades are for enhancing operations through better avionics, improved handling and enhanced system reliability including the engines. These upgrades are also aimed at improving “situational awareness” of aircrew. Thus, mission accomplishment with improved safety would be a certainty.

SP’s: The DG (IS) branch at Air HQ is directly responsible to carry out periodic inspections of all units/stations of the IAF. What is the focus area during these visits and what measures are being taken to improve these further?

DG (IS): Teams from the Directorate of Air Staff Inspection (DASI), Aircrew Examining Board (AEB) and the Directorate of Aerospace Safety (DAS) regularly visit field units to evaluate existing operational environment and formulate corrective measures which need to be undertaken to enhance aerospace safety. These teams have carried out more than 500 visits during the last one year. The focus of these visits is towards judging operational effectiveness and skill levels of field stations. Also, specific tasks towards identification of potential hazard areas and promotion of aerospace safety awareness to ensure improved involvement of ‘Support Services’ are undertaken during such visits.

SP’s: What are the key result areas of DG (IS) to improve the overall operational capabilities and flight safety record of the IAF? How are these being achieved?

DG (IS): To enhance awareness of aerospace safety amongst air warriors and identify issues affecting aerospace safety, I have visited 20 Air Force stations, attended five Command Aerospace Safety Council Meetings and visited HAL facilities at Bengaluru during the past 10 months. The aspects that have been stressed for compliance are, firstly enhancing knowledge, skills and abilities to eliminate accidents; secondly, identification of hazards through proactive involvement and thirdly, effective risk management. Also, emphasis is given to properly analyse previous accidents and learn how not to repeat the same mistakes. Further, thorough knowledge of existing orders, effective use of online knowledge management portal and regular audits for assessing compliance to correct practices are some of the important areas which have been re-stressed.