Indian Aviation News
4 schools in fake pilot scam bared!
by Bipin Shah Self Employed
Bipin Shah 
Self Employed
AT LEAST four aviation schools are allegedly issuing fake credentials and fabricating flying records so that their students could acquire pilot’s licenses from the government.
Whereas the Hollywood version headed by Nicolas Cage tells the story of a group of cutthroats and criminals who managed to hijack the plane they were riding on, the true-life story uncovered by People’s Tonight tells of malpractices in these aviation schools that can put people’s lives and properties at risks both here and abroad once those they certified to become pilots are allowed to fly an aircraft on their own.
Documents gathered by this paper disclosed that at least four ‘approved training organizations’ (ATO), out of the accredited 58 pilot schools, were found by an investigator from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), to have resorted to various questionable, if not downright criminal, means to acquire a pilot license.
These include the substitution of flying records and credentials, fabrication of flying hour reports and perjury and falsification of documents related to their logged flying hours all duly certified by the concerned ATO or pilot training school.
The ATOs allegedly engaged in the anomaly are: Delta Air International Aviation Academy (DAIAAI), Aeroflite Aviation Corp. (AAC), Orient Aviation Corp. (OAC) and Far East Aviation Services Air Charter and Sightseeing Flight.
The report on their alleged malpractices has been pending with the office of the CAAP director general since last year.
Specifically, DAIAAI was allegedly behind the fake records of at least twelve pilot trainees.
But according to CAAP sources, nothing has happened so far. “Wala pa rin namang nangyayari hanggang ngayon,” they said.
Worse, although new CAAP director general, Ramon S. Gutierrez, issued a ‘cease and desist order’ (CDO) against DAIAAI last February 7, he also lifted this four days later “in the interest of fair play.”
Incidentally, on the same day that Gutierrez lifted the CDO against DAIAAI, a confirmation from Solid Guaranty, an insurance company, arrived at the CAAP certifying that the insurance policy submitted by DAIAAI for the renewal of its ATO certificate “is a counterfeit policy.”
Although Tonight was unable to make an appointment with Gutierrez, his corporate media officer, Floramel Joy Songsong, said the issue against the ATOs is “already being looked into and is being prioritized.”
Gutierrez replaced Alfonso Cusi as CAAP director general at the start of the year.
On the other hand, Cusi was already aware of the controversy as early as June 2010, when CAAP Special Investigator (SI) Cesar Jose M. Lucero, started filing the result of his investigation involving 13 pilots with questionable licenses.
Heading the list of those with alleged questionable credentials is retired Major Gen. Romeo Dones Alamillo, a graduate of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA), Class of 1974.
Mar 28th 2011 00:07
Self EmployedAT LEAST four aviation schools are allegedly issuing fake credentials and fabricating flying records so that their students could acquire pilot’s licenses from the government.
Whereas the Hollywood version headed by Nicolas Cage tells the story of a group of cutthroats and criminals who managed to hijack the plane they were riding on, the true-life story uncovered by People’s Tonight tells of malpractices in these aviation schools that can put people’s lives and properties at risks both here and abroad once those they certified to become pilots are allowed to fly an aircraft on their own.
Documents gathered by this paper disclosed that at least four ‘approved training organizations’ (ATO), out of the accredited 58 pilot schools, were found by an investigator from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), to have resorted to various questionable, if not downright criminal, means to acquire a pilot license.
These include the substitution of flying records and credentials, fabrication of flying hour reports and perjury and falsification of documents related to their logged flying hours all duly certified by the concerned ATO or pilot training school.
The ATOs allegedly engaged in the anomaly are: Delta Air International Aviation Academy (DAIAAI), Aeroflite Aviation Corp. (AAC), Orient Aviation Corp. (OAC) and Far East Aviation Services Air Charter and Sightseeing Flight.
The report on their alleged malpractices has been pending with the office of the CAAP director general since last year.
Specifically, DAIAAI was allegedly behind the fake records of at least twelve pilot trainees.
But according to CAAP sources, nothing has happened so far. “Wala pa rin namang nangyayari hanggang ngayon,” they said.
Worse, although new CAAP director general, Ramon S. Gutierrez, issued a ‘cease and desist order’ (CDO) against DAIAAI last February 7, he also lifted this four days later “in the interest of fair play.”
Incidentally, on the same day that Gutierrez lifted the CDO against DAIAAI, a confirmation from Solid Guaranty, an insurance company, arrived at the CAAP certifying that the insurance policy submitted by DAIAAI for the renewal of its ATO certificate “is a counterfeit policy.”
Although Tonight was unable to make an appointment with Gutierrez, his corporate media officer, Floramel Joy Songsong, said the issue against the ATOs is “already being looked into and is being prioritized.”
Gutierrez replaced Alfonso Cusi as CAAP director general at the start of the year.
On the other hand, Cusi was already aware of the controversy as early as June 2010, when CAAP Special Investigator (SI) Cesar Jose M. Lucero, started filing the result of his investigation involving 13 pilots with questionable licenses.
Heading the list of those with alleged questionable credentials is retired Major Gen. Romeo Dones Alamillo, a graduate of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA), Class of 1974.
Mar 28th 2011 00:07
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