India, US to ink aviation safety pact

NEW DELHI - India and the United States are in the process of entering into a bilateral agreement which would lead to mutual acceptance of aeronautical products developed in either countries, the civil aviation ministry said Monday.

The two countries have completed two key processes prior to signing of the pact, Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement (BASA), the ministry said in a statement.

The two processes were a “technical assessment” of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in 11 defined areas and a shadow certification project involving review of DGCA works by the FAA.

A six-member FAA team visited DGCA headquarters here to review the DGCA aircraft certification system and carry out the technical assessment, said the ministry.

Following the review, the FAA team observed that the DGCA has a very sound aircraft certification system in place commensurate with the rules, regulations, working procedures, etc.

The FAA team executed its shadow certification project, examining the DGCA process of awarding works to its contractors, the ministry said, adding the two countries will soon start exchange of documents for signing of the agreement.