Based on former pilot Gaurav Taneja's allegations, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) suspended Captain Manish Uppal, the Head of Operations, Air Asia and Captain Mukesh Neema, Chief of Flight Safety, Air Asia, over safety violations by the airline.
Flaps are part of wings of an aircraft and they are engaged to create a drag during a landing or a take-off.
Taneja gave the example of the Imphal airport, where the plane descends more steeply as compared to other airports when approaching for landing. He said when an aircraft is coming down steeply, it needs to have a drag so that it remains slow, and in these circumstances a pilot has to do a "Flap full" landing.
WhatTaneja said in his YouTube video
"In order to achieve targets, what would people do? They will do Flap 3 landings without giving consideration whether it is safe or unsafe. This directly impacts the passenger safety," he had claimed in his YouTube video.
"If something happens during a Flap 3 landing, then the question would be asked to the pilot if he or she cares more about saving fuel or 180 passengers'' lives, Taneja had said.
On June 15, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said on Twitter that it had taken note of the concerns raised by some stakeholders "against a particular airline and its approach to safety".
"DGCA has already started an investigation into the issues flagged and shall take appropriate action based on the outcome of the said investigation," it added.
Senior DGCA officials had confirmed on June 15 itself that AirAsia India was under investigation after Taneja's allegations.
(With agency inputs)
