THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A Piper Seneca-V aircraft purchased by the state-run Rajiv Gandhi Academy for Aviation Technology (RGAAT) at a cost of Rs 6 crore is gathering dust over the last one year because of obstacles in obtaining mandatory clearances, even as various proposals for utlisation of the aircraft are in the pipeline.
Delay in commissioning the academy’s new hangar at Chakai, where the aircraft has been stationed, is the obstacle for obtaining the Director General of Civil Aviation’s (DGCA) mandatory clearance to operate the aircraft.
A Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) team that recently inspected the hangar cited various security shortcomings and hence it would take more time for the hanger to get access to the operational areas of the airport.
“About 40 percent work of the security requirements suggested by BCAS is over and we hope to complete the entire work in another few weeks,” the academy executive vice chairman G Chandramouli said.
Sources cite that it would take several more months to make the new aircraft operational as mandatory clearance for the hangar from BCAS as well the DGCA clearance for the aircraft may require time.
Meanwhile, various options on utilizing the six-seater aircraft (two for crew) for purposes other than training were under the government’s consideration. Air ambulance and urgent official trips of ministers and bureaucrats are the options under consideration.
