Fuel may have been adulterated: ex-DGCA chief

CNN-IBN | 04-Apr 08:03 AM

New Delhi: Reacting to the revelations about adulterated airline fuel, former DGCA chief Kanu Gohain has admitted that there could be some adulteration in airline fuel given the history of such cases. Speaking to CNN-IBN, Gohain said, "There could be such cases, there have been very famous cases in the early 80s when we found that the fuel pumped into the aeroplanes was adulterated."

"There have been cases when we found that the fuel pumped into the aeroplanes and immediately on starting, the engines flamed out. Stringent quality control checks have been made since then," he added.

CNN-IBN has accessed a report by the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) that shows how oil companies have been flouting its regulations on Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) testing for close to a decade.

The DGCA report said that it found that the oil companies had reduced the testing time for fuel purity from two minutes to one.

Non-standardised purity testing capsules could jeopardise safety of passengers and aircraft.

The DGCA hauled up a former flight safety official for failing to warn the regulator regarding the issue. In its notice, the DGCA questioned, "Why action should not be initiated for supplying non-standard Aquadis capsules to oil vendors and thereby jeopardising the safety of aircraft and its occupants?"

The lone supplier of fuel testing accessories, Kaveri Baag Corporation, was also put on notice on Tuesday by the DGCA for not following the standard testing procedures and compromising air safety.

Related Stories

Share with your friends

Facebook

Twitter