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

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.