The Hindu : Lufthansa pilot, co-pilot debarred

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jan 30, 2003

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Lufthansa pilot, co-pilot debarred

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI JAN. 29. The pilot and the co-pilot of the Lufthansa cargo plane that strayed into prohibited air space here - comprising the Rashtrapati Bhavan and the Prime Minister's residence -- a couple of months ago have been "debarred'' by the authorities from operating flights to India till the airline takes some corrective action.

In a letter to Lufthansa following an inquiry by the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation, the authorities have suggested that the pilot, Renger, and the co-pilot, Zoller, of flight LH-8443 should not be allowed to operate flights to India.

Citing the incident as a result of pilot error and explaining the level of security breach committed, the DGCA has urged Lufthansa to take action.

The aircraft that strayed into prohibited area was an M-11 cargo plane. Informed sources, said that it came to light in the course of questioning that both the pilot and the co-pilot did not have much experience in this sector.The lack of familiarity apart, holding procedures over the aerodrome in most parts of the world require taking a right turn in the beginning. However, in Delhi, a left turn needs to be taken. The Lufthansa plane, sources added, missed this instruction and turned right.

The inquiry report has given the air traffic control at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here "a clean chit" and stated that the incident was a "total pilot error''. Apparently, co-pilot Zoller was at the controls during this period. Both the pilot and co-pilot were debriefed for five hours after landing on November 20 last and thereafter detained for a couple of days for questioning before being allowed to leave the country. The inquiry also involved verification of the pronunciation of codes during the communication between the ATC and the flight. For this, the opinion of the International Civil Aviation Organisation was also obtained.

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