DGCA Suspends Flying School License After Fatal Crash

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has suspended the earlier approval granted to Alchemist Aviation, a flying training school in Jamshedpur. The approval was cancelled after a training aircraft crash at the school killed two people onboard. According to DGCA, the flying school will first have to meet the regulatory requirements before it can reapply for the approval process.

DGCA States

In a statement, DGCA said, “DGCA conducted a special safety audit of Alchemist Aviation Private Limited from 23 to 24 August 2024. During the audit, several serious deficiencies and non-compliances of regulatory provisions were found. Consequently, DGCA has suspended the approval granted to Alchemist Aviation Private Limited to operate as Flying Training Organisation and the FTO will now have to mandatorily undergo a de novo rectification process to ensure obligatory compliances.”

August 20 Crash

On August 20, a plane in Alchemist Aviation Private Limited was found crashed with two people who were onboard dead. The plane, a two-seater Cessna 152, originally took off from the Sonari aerodrome in Jamshedpur with an instructor and a trainee pilot onboard. After it vanished off the radar, a search operation was started, which recovered a dead body and the aircraft wreckage.