SpiceJet Bars 90 Pilots From Flying Boeing 737 MAX Aircraft After DGCA Penalty

Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) imposed a Rs 10-lakh fine on SpiceJet a few days ago for training 737 MAX aircraft pilots on a faulty simulator

During a surveillance check by the DGCA at the Greater Noida-based facility of CAE Simulation Training Pvt Ltd, the faults were detected.

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SpiceJet on Monday in an exchange filing said that the airline has restricted 90 pilots from flying Boeing MAX aircraft.

The development comes after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) imposed a Rs 10-lakh fine on SpiceJet for training 737 MAX aircraft pilots on a faulty simulator.

The DGCA earlier had said, “Training being imparted by SpiceJet could have adversely affected flight safety and was nullified.”

During a surveillance check by the DGCA at the Greater Noida-based facility of CAE Simulation Training Pvt Ltd (CSTPL), the faults were detected.

The airline, however, said that this restriction does not impact SpiceJet’s operation of the MAX aircraft as it has adequately trained pilots.

“The company has 650 pilots trained on MAX aircraft and DGCA had an observation on training profile for 90 pilots,” the statement said.

According to the statement, the restricted pilots will undergo re-training. “These pilots undergo re-training to the satisfaction of DGCA. This restriction does not impact the operations of MAX aircraft and the company has adequately trained pilots available for its operations. Basis the observation of DGCA these 90 pilots shall undergo re-training,” the company said in the BSE filing.

The restriction on 90 pilots came within eight months of the DGCA lifting a ban on Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.

This is the third instance when DGCA has imposed a financial penalty on operators after the regulator got the power to impose financial penalty for violation of rules.

Last year, the regulator had levied a fine of Rs 75,000 on two flight training schools for irregular maintenance of breath analyser equipment.

According to news reports, one DGCA official said that proper pilot training was part of the aviation regulator’s conditions for lifting the ban on the Boeing 737 Max in India, after the planes were grounded in India on March 13, 2019 following the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX aircraft near Addis Ababa.

Almost a year before the Ethiopian Airlines crash, a Lion Air Flight from Jakarta to Pangkal Pinang also had crashed.