Friday, October 5, 2012

KFA- How safe is safe?

Neelam Mathews
Oct 5, 2012

Viewing the ND TV Profit program on Kingfisher, about people not getting paid salaries and how it affects mental health,  I'm getting a painful banging in my head.
It has become very clear, as Capt Minoo Wadia said, "the minister does not understand what is aviation safety." This followed the mantri's remark on "it is the pilot's job to know....does he (pilot) not want to be safe himself?"
I am afraid I have to disagree. How does a person who is depressed realise the state of his mind when he is not in a position to do so?
Many years ago, I asked the then DGCA on whether health checks for pilots included mental health. I cannot forget his facial expression-it was as though I had dropped in from Mars. It was then that I realised we were in big trouble.
"Safety is a major concern and if the minister can say, we haven't had a crash, this is a major concern," says  Wadia.
"India's regulations are not upto international standards," says Kapil Kaul of CAPA.
"The government is working on a piecemeal basis" says Jitender Bhargava. 

These are thoughts that need to be addressed and really fast.





No comments:

Post a Comment