China admits pilots faked qualifications

Scores of Chinese airline pilots faked their qualifications, the country’s aviation body admitted today.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China said 192 pilots had jobs for which they did not have the necessary experience.

It said it had “severely dealt with the situation” in when it was discovered in 2008.

“China’s regulations do not tolerate any acts of fraud and any discovery of such problems in the future will be dealt with severely,” it said.

A report earlier this week in the China Business News said that 103 of the pilots were employed by Shenzhen Airlines, the parent company of the carrier involved in an August 24 crash, which killed 42 people and injured 54.