The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said on Wednesday that 192 commercial pilots were found in 2008 to have falsified their flying records.

The investigation into the qualification of pilots was conducted after the CAAC found pilots of one airline, which it did not disclose, had falsified resumes.

Measures taken afterwards included revoking licenses and offering compulsory training classes to pilots who were found to have falsified their resumes.

Those with faked records returned to work after they made up deficiencies in their flying histories, the statement said.

"The qualification of pilots is always the focus of our work," it said.

The statement was made after safety concerns over civil aviation were sparked nationwide, as the Shanghai-based China Business News cited an administration source saying that some 200 commercial pilots have falsified flying histories.

The report said that Shenzhen Airlines had 103 of the pilots with fake work histories on the payroll.

Shenzhen Airlines denied knowing about it, and the CAAC statement did not confirm the report either.

Shenzhen Airlines is the parent company of Henan Airlines, which owned a plane that crashed in Yichun in Heilongjiang province on Aug 24. A total of 42 people were killed and 54 injured.

The investigation into the 200 pilots with fake credentials was released at a teleconference held by the CAAC to warn the industry to take lessons from the crash.

A spokesperson with the CAAC said that a safety overhaul is being carried out in the country's air transport industry, including investigating the qualification of commercial pilots. "But so far this time, we have not found any pilot with a falsified flying record," the spokesperson said.

Industry insiders said that the rapid expansion of China's civil aviation requires more commercial pilots, and airline companies turned a blind eye on the fake records since they are happy to see more pilots certified by the administrative agency.

(China Daily September 9, 2010)