Indian budget carrier SpiceJet has removed 90 pilots from performing Boeing 737 MAX duties
due to insufficient training on the type.
India’s aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has ordered
the carrier to stop these pilots from flying the MAX until they receive proper training.
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And in today's video, we are going to talk about “Pilots BANNED From 737 MAX.”
So without any further ado, Let's begin.
Civil aviation regulator DGCA barred 90 SpiceJet pilots from flying the Boeing 737 Max aircraft
after finding them not properly trained.
A senior official in the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said as an immediate
course of action, these pilots had been barred from flying the Max aircraft and the airline
had been asked to get them re-trained.
SpiceJet, the only Indian airline currently using the 737 Max, operates 11 of the planes
and has enough pilots to keep flying them, a representative of the carrier said.
A fleet that size requires 144 pilots in total, he said.
Akasa is due to start commercial services in June, pending approvals.
“Civil aviation regulator DGCA today barred 90 SpiceJet pilots from flying the Boeing
737 Max aircraft after finding them not properly trained,” A senior official in the Directorate
General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said as an immediate course of action, these pilots had
been barred from flying the Max aircraft and the airline had been asked to get them re-trained.
The pilots have been barred from flying after faults were discovered with the flight simulator’s
flight controls at Boeing’s training facility, which was opened in 2020 at Noida, near Delhi.
It was during an inspection by the regulator that it was discovered the ‘stick shaker’
which is a mechanical device that warns pilots of an imminent stall by violently shaking
the plane’s control yoke, was not functioning properly.
“Boeing has said that they will replace the faulty equipment at the Noida facility
but till then, no training can happen for the 737 MAX aircraft,” an official said.
One of the criteria for the MAX returning to service in 2021 was that Boeing increases
flight training for pilots, including simulator training.
SpiceJet is Boeing’s biggest customer for the 737 MAX in India, so it has a vested interest
in its safety.
Boeing has been under the spotlight recently, following the China Eastern crash, which featured
a B737-800, not the newer MAX variant.
The DGCA exercised enhanced surveillance on Boeing 737 aircraft operated by Indian airlines
after a China Eastern Airlines plane carrying 132 people crashed in the Guangxi province.
According to media reports, it was a Boeing 737-800 aircraft.
Meanwhile, Spicejet has said that the restriction by DGCA will not impact the operations of
MAX aircraft.
On April 19th, a SpiceJet Boeing 737 airplane was on its way from the South Indian city
of Bengaluru to Guwahati in the North East.
The flight itself was uneventful and reached its destination safely.
However, one of the passengers couldn’t help but notice the scruffy cabin interiors
and questionable conditions of some panels that appeared broken or missing.
Not entirely satisfied by the condition of the plane, the passenger decided to post pictures
of the cabin and tweet them, tagging the DGCA.
Airlines ground their planes for several reasons.
But Passenger’s tweets about the not-so-ideal condition of the cabin forcing a carrier to
make immediate fixes doesn’t happen often.
But that’s precisely what happened with India’s low-cost carrier SpiceJet.
The incident also highlighted India’s aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil
Aviation’s (DGCA) prompt response in handling the matter.
A SpiceJet official confirmed the development to ANI and commented,
“Aircraft interior cabin work was carried out on a SpiceJet Boeing 737 aircraft after
it landed in Bengaluru at around 3:40 pm on April 19 in the direction of the DGCA.
The aircraft resumed flying from the morning of April 20 after DGCA approval.”
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