Observing Pakistan by Pakistan, Our Stories

Here's the actual reason behind the Fake Pilot licenses in Pakistan.

2020-07-01T22:06:00.002+05:00

Image source: Getty Images.

The news of fake pilot licenses is all over the internet, and things could not get much worse when even Vietnam grounds Pakistani pilots, the United Arab Emirates suspend flights from Pakistan, International AirTraffic Association (IATA) shows grave concern, following the 6-month long ban from European Union the United Kingdom also suspends flights from Pakistan for the same duration.

Everything seems to be falling apart for Pakistani aviation sector after the country’s aviation minister stated while in the parliament that every 1 out of 3 pilots in Pakistan holds a fake license, as the initial investigation of PIA’s A320 crash reveals the reason for the crash to be pilot’s error.

What’s more disturbing is the fact that it is just not the semi-Government airline that is guilty of hiring pilots with ‘fake’ licenses, the private airlines in the country are equally responsible. Here is a list that shows how troubling the entire saga is:

Image credits: author.

One begs the question is that how could a country and its licensing authority remain unaware of such a massive number of frauds against a profession which holds a great repute and has hundred of lives on their hands.

Let’s understand who is responsible or who is not, and even if the news is blown out of proportions or not.

Starting at Pakistani flight schools:

Becoming a pilot in Pakistan is no different than many other countries. Just like the rest of the world, Pakistani airlines hire pilots who are graduate from local flight schools and have served in the Pakistan Air Force or Pakistan Naval Aviation. The country has 7 flight schools that are accredited by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

These schools offer training in the single-engine Cessna 150 aircraft, have instructors that are well qualified as usually these schools are owned by ex-Pakistan Air Force or Pakistan International Airlines pilots. A cadet pilot has to complete their ground training but before they can enter a flying school, there are some pre-requisites that are to be completed.

Acquiring Pilot License:

Once everything is in-line, a cadet pilot will have to spend 2 years in a flight school where they will be taught flight basics such as flight performance and management, human limitations, navigation, and so on. It is usually the flight schools that give their Student Pilot License or (SPL) after they have completed a 40 Hour flight on their two-seater Cessna 150. To acquire this, the student pilot has to pass 7 different exams.

Commercial Pilot License Airplane or CPL-A. This is done when the pilot is able to answer multiple exams that are basically to test their skills and knowledge. This exam is conducted by Civil Aviation Authority or CAA. In order to complete the CPL-A, the cadet pilot has to pass 8 different exams and have to have 200 flying hours.

Now comes ATPL-A or Airline Transport Pilot License Airplane, where the pilot has to complete up about 7 ATPL-A exams, conducted by the same authority that is Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and has to complete 1500 flying hours.

Once all that is completed, the student or cadet pilot is not considered a student anymore and can apply for the airlines that operate within Pakistan.

The real problem of Fake pilot license issue in Pakistan:

Now comes one of the most interesting parts of the entire saga. The main issue which never got attention is the fact that the pilots even with the fake degrees have cleared all these steps and have been found to have all the necessary flying hours needed.

What is more interesting is that the licenses which have been assumed to be ‘Fake’ are not even fake, to begin with. They have been assigned by the Civil Aviation Authority themselves. One of the perceptions that many got is these pilots were holding fake documents from a third-party underground club.

This is far from reality. While there might be some cases of such nature but the real issue that these pilots are labeled to have fake licenses is that they simply did not clear all the examinations they were supposed to do so. What they did was hired a proxy who would fill their space and lie on the paper suggesting it was them answering the exam.

While this does not make it less troubling, in fact, if someone cannot simply pass these examinations which are often considered to be “less competitive” then they are in the west, the individuals who hire proxy personals to answer their exams have no right to be flying. Period.

How can the issue be resolved?

Pakistan has to take serious steps. It has to learn from its’ past, its Air Force, and most important of all have to realize how serious this issue is and can perhaps put hundreds more in jeopardy. The PIA crash in the southern part of the country is seemingly one of the sad parts of the story, and in order to commend those lives lost, it is important Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) gets their act together.

With proper accountability, and proper actions, things can become much better for the aviation sector of Pakistan, and the dark cloud of fake license issues can go for good.

Lahore smog: It's not a natural phenomenon

2016-11-04T02:03:00.001+05:00

Every December, thick fog descends upon Lahore, blocking out the winter sunshine, closing off the motorway after dusk and preventing flights from landing at the international airport at night.

The problem has grown worse over the last five years due to the high levels of pollution and poor air quality in the city, created by increasing vehicular and industrial emissions. Even during the summer months, there is now a permanent haze hanging over the city that is only relieved when it rains and the pollution is washed away for a short while.

Air pollution is an issue that needs to be urgently addressed as Lahore is now considered amongst the most polluted cities in Asia. In the winter months, with delayed rainfall, the cold and continuously dry conditions concentrate all the pollutants in the lower levels of the atmosphere, causing the smog to spread all over the Punjab.

“After a month of thick fog or rather smog, we finally saw some sunshine last week after some light rain came down the night before,” explains a resident of the Lahore Canal area. “We are so sick of the cold and damp that comes with the smog each year.” The foggy conditions also lower the daytime temperatures since there is little sunshine to warm up the day.

According to Dr Qamar uz Zaman Chaudhry, national climate change expert and former Director General of Pakistan’s Meteorological Department, “The main source of the pollutants in our lower atmosphere is Eastern Punjab where all the coal based industries are centered (across the border in India). Of course, we have added our share of the pollutants as well from factory and car emissions.”

In places near irrigation canals, rice paddies and rivers where there is more moisture available, the fog gets even thicker. The smog only gets cleared when it rains, washing away the lower layers of the atmosphere where all the harmful gases and other pollutants are trapped near the ground.

Lahore, along with New Delhi, has recently been listed amongst the top 10 worst cities for smog in 2014 according to the Deutche Welle website. Until industries on both sides of the border start cleaning up their emissions and people start using more fuel-efficient transportation, people will just have to avoid going outdoors or wear masks as they do in the heavily polluted cities of China in Beijing. Breathing in all these trapped pollutants (dust and harmful substances like sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide) is not exactly healthy. Industrial smog can in fact create major health risks, including asthma, lung tissue damage, bronchial infections and heart problems.

Last month, the Government of the Punjab submitted a report to the Supreme Court of Pakistan on the steps taken to curtail pollution in the province. According to the report, there has been a great increase in the number of vehicles in Lahore during the recent past, which has resulted in worsening air quality.

The report also pointed out that there is now a complete ban on the issuance of registration and route permit of two stroke engine rickshaws (introduced in 2005) and the process of conversion or replacement of existing 2-stroke rickshaws into 4-stroke rickshaws has been initiated. However, many of the motor vehicles plying the city roads have old engines that guzzle petrol and diesel and spew out poisonous fumes and there is a need for stricter laws on banning these vehicles.

In Delhi, which is also blanketed by smog throughout the winter months, the well-known environmental NGO, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) is urging the government of India to acknowledge the air pollution problem and put in place pollution emergency action for smog episodes. According the to the CSE, “What matters most from the public health perspective is the daily dose of toxins that people breathe. If urgent steps are not taken to bring pollution levels down to meet clean air standards, it will lead to a public health disaster.”

Labourers work at a brick kiln near Lahore. Open burning, vehicles, factories and power generation contribute significantly to the air pollution in Lahore.

The CSE uses state-of-the-art portable air quality monitoring equipment to track how much pollution an individual is exposed to in Delhi while doing their daily chores. This dust track aerosol monitor measures both mass and size fraction of the particulate matter. According to Sunita Narain, the head of the CSE, “Our data is quite shocking – we have found that daily personal exposure to toxic air is significantly higher than the background ambient air pollution that is monitored by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee. This is a serious risk to public health.”

The CSE wants their government to implement an air quality index with health advisory and pollution emergency measures. They would also like to see nation-wide Euro IV in place by 2015 (India has stricter laws on cars then Pakistan). They would also like to control dieselisation with tax measures to cut deadly toxic particles and scale up public transport. Lastly they would like the government to restrain the growth of cars with parking restraints and taxes in the city and implement priority action for power plants, open burning, generator sets and construction.

Lahore could do well to take a leaf out of Delhi's book and perhaps initiate a programme similar to that of the CSE, albeit on a government level.

According to the Health Effects Institute, the damage from the poor air quality ranges is not just limited to public health. Heritage (nitric sulfuric acid erosion), natural resources and agriculture are also greatly effected.

There is a need for a comprehensive action plan to address worsening levels of pollution not only in Lahore but throughout the country in which NGOs and the media will have to play a pivotal role.

Construction of Solar Powered Stadium

2009-05-26T23:25:00.001+06:00

World's first stadium whos power is based on solar panels.
This stadium is based in Taiwan. It is used for world games.
There are 8,884 panels on its roofs. It coasted $150 m to build it.
Here are some pictures of the construction of this stadium.

Amazing Water Drops

2009-05-25T18:33:00.001+06:00

WWF Netherlands by RAU

2009-05-23T11:17:00.000+06:00

Design Team: Thomas Rau of RAU
Location: Driebergseweg (Zeist), Netherlands
Cost: € 4005000

The building's form is quite clearly inspired by organic forms and the desire to reflect the WWF's work in the natural realm. More than that, though, it seems to draw inspiration from the ideas of anthroposophy – something also seen in the past work of the project's architects, RAU, notably with the ING Bank offices in Amsterdam which also happens, like the WWF headquarters, to be an autonomous building. The central 'blob' – yes that is what it's called – houses the building's entrance concourse and meeting room area while, externally, softening the modernist-inspired lines that run outward from it.

In the moisture-balancing mud ceilings, continuous circulation of water through little glass tubes takes care of the spreading of human and mechanical warmth, and – even more importantly – of cooling. Through horizontal wooden blinds, a maximum of useful light enters. All materials are screened for environment friendliness as well as child labour. And of course space is made for wildlife: ‘bird-friendly roofing tiles’ and ‘bat basements’.

Amazing Hawaii

2009-05-22T10:56:00.001+06:00

How To Prepare a Giant Burger

2009-05-20T23:05:00.000+06:00

Great idea for a small group of friends. Why do you need to make plenty of little burgers if you can make one enormous burger for all.

Funny Fruit & Veg Pictures

2009-05-20T15:13:00.001+06:00

Funny And Cute Modeling

2009-05-10T00:44:00.000+06:00

Amazing Light Show

2009-05-05T18:03:00.000+06:00

African Wildlife Photos

2009-05-03T15:12:00.000+06:00

Deepest Step Well In the World

2009-05-02T17:17:00.001+06:00

Biggest Diamond Mining Unit

2009-05-02T00:06:00.000+06:00

Biggest Diamond Mining Unit...a true wonder!!
Take a look at biggest open diamond mine in the world. It is not from the next "Star Wars" film, it is real!!!This giant truck BELAZ (200-220 ton payload ) looks like small spot on next picture...

Here with small red arrow the track BELAZ 7350 is pointed and Mirny city on the horizon line above...

Mirny, Russia , East Siberia .525 m deep, 1200 meters in diameter. The air zone within this mine is closedfor helicopters - happened a few accidents when they were "sucked in"by downward air flow...

Track dimensions are: Length 13360 mm,Width 7780 mm,Height 6650 mmAnd finally look from a satellite:

upper city on the map and at the right corner you can see the map of Russia

Ice and Snow Sculptures

2009-04-30T21:13:00.000+06:00

Cute Baby Hedgehoge

2009-04-28T16:08:00.000+06:00

Incredible Scotch Art

2009-04-27T20:07:00.000+06:00

Very Big Luxurious Bus

2009-04-25T13:47:00.000+06:00

Very Big Luxurious Bus

nat geo wallpapers

2009-04-23T12:29:00.000+06:00

nat geo wallpaper from the nat geo website

Why Cricketers get Attacked in Pakistan

2009-04-22T19:04:00.000+06:00

That is the German Police

That is the U.S. Police

That is the British Police

And that is the Pakistani Police

Plane Made of Gold

2009-04-22T18:30:00.000+06:00

This plane is property of Brunei's president. Brunei benefits from extensive petroleum and natural gas fields, the source of one of the highest per capita GDPs in the developing world.

Human Face Art

2009-04-20T20:19:00.000+06:00

Tattood Partraits

2009-04-18T20:33:00.000+06:00

People are doing tattooed portraits for ages. But tattoo fashion is changing. For example today, many people like to tattoo a portrait of Heath Ledger in the role of the Joker (Dark Knight), or the portrait of Jack Nicholson (The Shining) and of course the portrait of Johnny Depp. As for Elvis, it seems that he is outdated. Collecting the pictures for this selection, I came across only two or three photos with him.

Cost Rican Airplane Hotel

2009-04-17T20:54:00.000+06:00

Hotel Costa Verde, Costa Rica used to be just a lodge until they added a fully outfitted, two bedroom suite made from a refurbished 1965 Boeing 727 airframe.

Plane Boat: The Cosmin Muffin

2009-04-17T18:56:00.000+06:00

What do you do with an old plane, that can’t fly anymore? Simple, you turn it into a boat.The Cosmic Muffin used to be a real plane, with wings, tail and everything and she actually flew. She used to be a Boeing 307 Stratoliner, one of only ten ever built. The owner, David Drimmer says the plane was bought by a certain Ken London, long after its flying days had passed, due to extensive damage caused by a hurricane. He purchased it for the staggering sum of $62.After he ended up with the old plane, the only thing that he thought of was to cut it down into pieces. Thankfully he had a moment of genius and decided to transform it into a touring boat. Back then it was named the Londonaire.Drimmer says he came across his Cosmic Muffin while he was searching for a place to live. He paid $7,500 and is now the owner one of the wackiest boats on any waters. The Cosmic Muffin awaits tourists in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Death Race Style Chevrolet Camaron at Moscow Tuning Show

2009-04-16T16:22:00.000+06:00

This year’s Moscow Tuning Show featured a special car, a ’70s Chevrolet Camaro modified by a team of students from Russian MHPI design school to look like a car from last year’s movie Death Race (a remake of the 1975 Death Race 2000 movie). The movie’s action takes place in the future, and Jason Statham plays a former race driver who is forced to race armored cars against criminals with life sentences. The movie has a lot of cool car action and it also features super hot Natalie Martinez, as Jason’s co-pilot. The Russian students used matte-grey paint for the Camaro and fitted it with armor plates and weapons, making it look like it came right out of Hollywood movie sets.