Pilot union is furious after Air India appoints as its head of operations SPS Suri , a pilot with a long record of endangering passengers, turning up late (or not at all) and even falling asleep on flights.

Beleaguered national carrier Air India sparked a fresh controversy by appointing as it head of operations a pilot with a laundry list of operational violations. SPS Suri (58), who has been with the airline since 1983, has over a dozen violations to his name, including two in 2012.

Pilots' unions have strongly opposed the move. A senior member of the Civil Aviation Safety Advisory Committee (CASAC) has written to the chariman and managing director of Air India about Suri's appointment. "The biggest violator is now our boss. How the management and the ministry want to run the show is pretty clear. Now the only option is to quit the airline and look for another job," said a senior pilot from the Indian Commercial Pilots Association.

Documents available with Mumbai Mirror describe Suri's many operational lapses. On July 5, 2012, he was operating Air India flight 348 from Delhi to Shanghai when the flight reported major mid-air turbulence. Over 20 passengers, including two cabin crew members, sustained serious injuries, and baggage lockers, arm rests and lavatories were also damaged.

Suri, however, not only chose to fly the damaged plane to Shanghai, but also flew it back to Delhi the next day, endangering the lives of another 200-odd passengers. From the accounts of crew members, it was established that Suri could have landed the aircraft in Kolkata but, to shield his mistake, decided to proceed with the journey.

Suri, who was a general-manager rank officer at the time, described the incident as minor turbulence and warned his crew members to keep mum about what had actually happened. The matter was not even reported to the Directoral General of Civil Aviation. Later, when the DGCA got to know if it, Suri was suspended from flying.

However, despite his suspension and a pending inquiry, Suri manage to get himself on a Delhi-Mumbai flight on August 1, 2012 as an additional crew member, in violation of immigration and aviation guidelines. Another inquiry was ordered, and the civil aviation ministry in anger withdrew the additional crew member facility given to pilots.

On April 1, 2009, Suri, who was operating flight AI 307 from Tokyo to Delhi, allegedly fell asleep during the flight. Both pilots did not respond to communications from air traffic control in Tokyo. It was only when they entered Chinese air space that the two finally responded to air traffic control in Shanghai.

On November 15, 1987, Suri had reported late for a flight, delaying it by several hours. When questioned by the operations department, he said that he was unable to recollect the incident. "His plea that he doesn't recollect the incident after a period of five months cannot be accepted as the delay was entirely due to him. Consider action for the addition expenditure involved due to delay," the then director of operations said.

In July 1996, Suri simply didn't turn up for a flight. A few weeks later, the airline learnt that he had gone to the US for eye treatment. When the airline ordered an inquiry into the matter, Suri reported sick.

In 2003, senior IAS officer R S Khwaja complained of rough landings on two flights, one on November 17 and the other on November 19. An investigation revealed that Suri was the pilot on both flights.

Aviation expert Vipul Saxena said, "The most important factor is the character and the personality of an official, not the number of hours flown. He should be able to motivate and inspire young pilots. On many occasions, Suri has been found wanting on both these counts."

Air India chairman and managing director Rohit Nandan couldn't be reached for comment.

