AAIB Urges DGCA to Enforce Standardized Syllabus for Flying Schools After Guna Crash Probe

• by Akanksha Mishra
• 2026-10-03 16:07:00

In a landmark regulatory intervention aimed at eliminating safety discrepancies across India's flight training sector, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has urged civil aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to enforce a uniform, standardized training curriculum for all Flying Training Organisations (FTOs) across the country. Formulating its comprehensive safety recommendations in a detailed 61-page final investigation report released on September 29, the federal probe body emphasized that student aviators must be subjected to mandatory, exhaustive flight maneuvers and thorough emergency protocol drills before being authorized for solo sorties. The safety advisory stems from an extensive forensic investigation into a March 2024 landing crash involving a four-seater Cessna 172S training aircraft operated by Chimes Aviation Academy at the uncontrolled Guna airfield in Madhya Pradesh, pinpointing severe procedural lapses during unstable approaches and delayed go-around decisions.

Standardized Syllabus by License Category: Mandatory Emergency Drills Before First Solo Sortie

Highlighting persistent gaps in initial flight instruction across domestic pilot academies, the AAIB safety directive sets strict training conditions:

License-Specific Curriculum Mandate: The AAIB recommended that the DGCA require all certified flying training organizations to adopt standardized syllabi calibrated precisely to specific pilot license tiers (such as PPL and CPL).

Compulsory Pre-Solo Benchmarks: The investigative bureau underlined that chief flight instructors must certify that trainee pilots successfully execute all syllabus-prescribed air handling maneuvers and practice critical emergency contingencies before being granted clearance for solo flights.

Rigorous Safety Auditing: The probe body emphasized regular regulatory audits of ground schools and flight training operations to prevent academies from fast-tracking flight hours at the expense of core aviation safety protocols.

Inside the Guna Airfield Crash: Unstable Approach, Prolonged Flare, and Late Go-Around Triggered Overshoot

The investigation reconstructed the sequence of cockpit decisions that led to the crash of the Chimes Aviation Academy Cessna 172S trainer aircraft:

The Incident Overview: On March 6, 2024, a solo trainee pilot aboard a four-seater Cessna 172S trainer attempted to land at Guna airfield in Madhya Pradesh, resulting in an excursion that left the pilot with minor injuries and substantial structural damage to the airframe.

Loss of Runway Directional Control: The bureau's final findings determined that the accident occurred when the student pilot failed to contain the aircraft within the active runway dimensions during touchdown.

Delayed Decision-Making at the Threshold: Upon realizing the landing profile was corrupted following an extended "flare"—raising the nose wheel too high and floating down the tarmac—the pilot initiated a delayed "go-around" (aborting the touchdown to climb back into the pattern).

Collision with Obstacles on the Slope: Due to the belated application of go-around power and insufficient remaining runway length, the Cessna overshot the paved surface, rolled down an embankment, and collided with a tree situated on the peripheral downslope.

Contributing Operational Failures: The AAIB categorized the root causes as an unstabilized approach profile, poor situational awareness, an unduly prolonged landing flare, delayed abort decisions, and a failure to maintain timely radio communication with the local traffic coordinator.

Air Traffic Coordination Gaps: Operations at Uncontrolled Airfields Under Scrutiny

The findings also shed light on infrastructure anomalies present at non-towered regional airfields across India:

Uncontrolled Airfield Complexity: The report highlighted that Guna Airfield is categorized as an uncontrolled airfield, lacking statutory civil air traffic control services typically provided by the Airports Authority of India.

Ad-Hoc Flight Coordination: Operational flight safety at the strip relied heavily on an air traffic coordination tower constructed independently by a local training unit, Sha Shib Aviation Academy, illustrating the operational complexities trainee pilots encounter when flying circuits outside controlled commercial airspace.

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