Third batch of Mihin Lanka Trainee First Officers take flight

Monday, 18 August 2014 00:06 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Mihin Lanka, Sri Lanka’s national low-cost carrier is proud of the excellent progress made by its third batch of cadets inducted in July 2013. The airline fulfilled its commitment to clear all 11 Trainee First Officers (TFOs) to fly as fully-fledged pilots within a mere 12 months of their training as planned. Mihin Lanka is now preparing to recruit its fourth batch of trainees. Capt. Pujitha Jayakody, Director Flight Operations, Mihin Lanka said, “This achievement has been made possible by the talented and dedicated young trainee pilots, as well as the commitment of the Sri Lankan Airlines resident simulator instructors who supported the cadets’ simulator training. The passion of Mihin Lanka’s veteran instructor captains who shared their expertise with this new batch of pilots also contributed towards the success of their training. Teamwork and dedication played a pivotal role in us achieving this milestone, which was cemented in customized training programs. We were the pioneers to use the ADAPT interview process by Alpha Aviation and Sim bio tics in the UK, which tailor-made our interview process to identify the qualities we were looking for in our cadets. Our selection process is extremely important as it is our responsibility to people and society to produce world-class pilots who will be future commanders of airplanes.”

Capt. Themiya Abeywickrama, Chief Pilot Training and Standards, Mihin Lanka said, “The selected candidates were required to have a Commercial Pilots License from the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka. After the suitable candidates were selected by the ADAPT aptitude process, they had to undergo a six week stint at the ground school conducted by Mihin Lanka with the help of some veteran ground instructors who had been professional flight engineers on Boeing 747 and Lock Head Tri Star airplanes for Singapore Airlines, LTU and Sri Lankan Airlines. During their training with the ground instructors, the cadets were introduced to complex working systems on bigger and more modern airplanes. Thereafter they completed the Type Rating Course, which includes Aircraft Type Specific ground school and simulated flight training which in this case was on an Airbus A320. This aspect of the cadets’ training took approximately six to eight weeks per person and only after they completed it could they commence flying actual aircraft with an instructor captain. This aspect of training called line orientation enabled cadets to fly a minimum of 40 sectors (take offs and landings) to a maximum of 60 sectors before they got final clearance to fly as fully-fledged first officers. Line training was conducted by Mihin Lanka’s resident local and expatriate instructors all of whom have a minimum of 20 years of experience in the aviation industry.” Nishantha Ranatunga, Chairman / CEO, Mihin Lanka stated, “Mihin Lanka has always been open to new challenges and we are doing our best to meet our current industry requirements and developments. Our training management has already started working on the recruitment of our fourth batch of cadets. An enhanced training program will also be introduced to address the present demands of the aviation industry. In the last two years, approximately 20 first officers who began their careers at Mihin Lanka, have joined some of the largest airlines in the region including Etihad, Tiger Airways, Air Arabia, Vietnam Airlines and Sri Lankan Airlines.” “At Mihin Lanka, we believe in continuously improving our standards. I must thank our training team and professionals who adhered to stringent deadlines and helped produce a world-class batch of young pilots. The world has an increasing demand for good technical crew members and Mihin Lanka believes it’s the duty of the airline to create opportunities for Sri Lankan youngsters from all parts of the island,” Ranatunga said.