DGCA conducts spot checks, advises airlines to fix shortcomings by July 28

New Delhi, July 18: With airlines reporting multiple technical malfunction incidents, aviation regulator DGCA on Monday conducted spot checks and found that there is an insufficient number of engineering personnel certifying planes of various carriers before their departure.

There have been many reports recently of some airlines experiencing mid-air mishaps related to faulty engineering, among others, prompting the DGCA to issue guidelines and directed them to comply by July 28.

The DGCA spot checks also found that the aircraft maintenance engineer (AME) teams of airlines are improperly identifying the "cause of a reported defect''.

They also found that there has been an "increasing trend of MEL (minimum equipment list) releases" of aircraft, non-availability of required certifying staff at short intervals for multiple scheduled arrivals/departures.

"MEL releases" means an aircraft is allowed to fly with certain inoperative equipment or instruments for a specific period of time, until the repairs are done.

"It is also seen that airlines are resorting to frequent one-off authorisation to Category A certifying staff at transit stations which is not in line with existing regulatory provisions," the DGCA said.

Category A engineer is called a 'limited scope engineer', and he or she is allowed to certify and release planes for departures only when the aircraft does not have any complex defect.

The DGCA said it has decided that all the aircraft at base airports and transit will be released by certifying staff holding AME of only B1/ B2 license with appropriate authorisation by their organisation/ airline.

On Monday, aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia held one-on-one meetings with chiefs of Indian carriers, asking them to ramp up safety oversight.

On Sunday, IndiGo's Sharjah-Hyderabad flight was diverted to Karachi as a precautionary measure after pilots observed a defect in one of the engines.

On Saturday night, the Calicut-Dubai flight of the Air India Express was diverted to Muscat after a burning smell was observed in the cabin mid-air.

A day earlier a bird, which was alive, was found in the cockpit of the Air India Express Bahrain-Kochi flight.

SpiceJet is under regulatory scanner right now. On July 6, the DGCA issued a show-cause notice to SpiceJet following at least eight incidents of technical malfunction in its aircraft since June 19. The DGCA is currently investigating all these incidents.