Sonatrach recruits pilots upon fake medical certificates
Trainee pilots at Sonatrach’s Tassili Airlines were selected in an inequitable way as health certificates were falsified to choose its officials’ sons, according to documents.
The company does not accomplish its tasks anymore
The same documents show that Tassili Airlines has become a specialized company to train pilots and transfer Sonatrach’s money abroad using training deals. A contract was sealed with Serbia to train pilots who are selected following a national competition exam.
Tassili Airlines was created in 2011 to operate in air medical evacuation, agricultural field and fertilizers. Sonatrach paid 800 million DZ for its creation.
The company attracted officials’ sons who had scores less than 5/20
The scandal started as a competition exam was announced to recruit 48 trainee pilots in 2009. The number of candidates was estimated at 1,000. Requirements for this position were: to be successful at the baccalaureate exam, option: sciences or mathematics, having studied at university for two years, to be no more than 27, to bring a health certificate and to be suspended from military service.
In a document submitted as a complaint to justice, it is said that the company selected a number of candidates who had scores less than 5/20. Some of them did not take the competition exam and failed in the Baccalaureate exam.
According to the same source, the list of successful candidates includes names of Sons of Sonatrach’s sons.
Serbia trainee pilots scandal
Complaints lodged by air medical evacuation chief Hassan Kordoli show that a deal was conducted to transfer Sonatrach’s money abroad by granting a training deal to a foreign school in Serbia. The pilots came back to Algeria as they did not receive the supposed scholarship estimated at about 60,000 euros.
The document said Kordoli was contacted on November 5th in 2012 to approve a medical expertise for 10 pilots who were in Serbia. They came back to Algeria because of health troubles. Yet, the medical experts refused to approve a fake report without examining the students.
Pressure continued on the sworn doctor to approve the mysterious training deal. He refused at the end and his problems started with the company.
He told Echorouk he filed many lawsuits regarding corruption issues and the training deal.
Complaints against the doctor who rejected “falsification”
According to the same source, Kordoli sent a letter to Algeria’s justice minister asking him to reopen the investigation on counterfeiting, cheating and money embezzlement.
Some students who used the influence of the energy minister and Sonatrach’s officials put pressure on him. He was dismissed by human resources director who was behind the selection of his pilot son without taking the competition exam.
On January 4th in 2015, the doctor sent a letter to the transport minister asking him to investigate into the issue.
As he refused to sign fake certificates, pressure was put on him and his office doors were broken. He had been fired for 17 months without earning his salary.
He was also prosecuted by a trainee working as a union chief.
Aviation judicial expert: “we should speak out about this scandal”
Mohamed Redouane Zerrouk, a pilot and accidents judicial expert said he was shocked after checking documents related to the issue.
He believes that civil aviation law was violated.
“Medical examination of pilots is compulsory. It should be done by an impartial and specialized commission. Using fake medical certificates to get the position of pilot is a crime,” he told Echorouk.