1 Air India, 2 SpiceJet pilots suspended for violating safety rules

New Delhi, July 16: Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Tuesday suspended three pilots - one from national carrier Air India and two from private airline SpiceJet - for violation of safety norms of aviation.

The incident happened on July 2 when the plane was operating Pune-Kolkata flight.

In recent weeks, the watchdog has been taking strict action against individuals and entities for various violations.

The official told PTI that flying licenses of the two pilots of SpiceJet - Aarati Gunasekaran and Saurabh Gulia - have been suspended for six months.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) decision came after replies provided by them to the showcause notice were not satisfactory.

Investigation into the incident found that the aircraft touched down approximately 1,300 feet from runway threshold point, the official said.

This resulted in the plane "further veering to right of runway centerline and damaging runway edge lights," the official added.

The six-month suspension of flying licences is effective from July 2, the date when the incident took place.

A pilot of Air India and a cabin crew member also faced suspension.