Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya) is concerned over the level of training of general aviation (GA) pilots in Russia and wants more transparency over pilot training, as well as mandatory fitting of collision avoidance systems, the agency's deputy director Oleg Storchevoi says.
"We're very concerned at the level of training of general aviation pilots. We've repeatedly said that we need not to tighten up the requirements for pilot training, but make it clear, understandable, so there is a way to control its functioning," he said at a meeting in the Moscow City parliament on 8 September.
Rosaviatsiya does not have the capability to monitor the training process for GA pilots or to control the issuing of licences,Storchevoi says, adding that the agency also wants mandatory fitting of collision warning systems in GA aircraft.
"There are no such requirements [to fit collision warning] and there should be," he says. "Yes, this will be an additional expense for aircraft users. But I think it's hard to put extra costs on the same level as human life."
The call for increased regulation of Russian general aviation follows a spate of crashes in recent months, including a mid-air collision near Moscow on 8 August involving a Cessna 206 single-engined floatplane and a Robinson R44 helicopter, in which nine people were killed.
General aviation has boomed in the last decade in Russia, but many GA pilots there have criticised a lack of regulation. Many Interstate Aviation Committee accident reports on incidents involving light aircraft in Russia in that period have cited infractions of the rules, with pilots having lapsed licences or medical certificates, invalid airworthiness documentation, or even no such documentation at all. Many accidents have also involved GA pilots flying while under the influence of alcohol.
Source: Flight International
