DGCA issues show cause notice to SpiceJet after 8 incidents in last 18 days

New Delhi, July 06: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DCGA) on Wednesday has issued show cause notice to SpiceJet over series of mid-air incidents and sought for written explanation.

The Indian regulator said that SpiceJet has failed to establish safe, efficient and reliable air services under Aircraft Rules, 1937.

In light of the recent incidences of technical malfunction with regard to @flyspicejet flights in the last 18 days, the @DGCAIndia has issued a show cause notice to the air carrier. pic.twitter.com/1umJSOPhdK

— MoCA_GoI (@MoCA_GoI) July 6, 2022

"The review (of incidents) transpires that poor internal safety oversight and inadequate maintenance actions (as most of the incidents are related to either component failure or system related failure) have resulted in degradation of the safety margins," the notice stated.

The DGCA has given SpiceJet three weeks to respond to the notice. "Financial assessment carried out by DGCA in September 2021 has also revealed that the airline is operating on 'cash-​and-carry' (model) and ​s​uppliers/​a​pproved ​v​endors are not being paid on a regular basis leading to shortage of spares and frequent invoking of MELs (minimum equipment lists)," it stated.

The DGCA said SpiceJet has failed to "establish a safe, efficient and reliable air services" under terms of Rule 134 and Schedule XI of the Aircraft Rules, 1937.

Reacting to the DGCA notice, Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia asserted that passenger safety was paramount. "Even the smallest error hindering safety will be thoroughly investigated & course-corrected," he said in a tweet.

Earlier in the day, China-bound SpiceJet cargo plane returned to Kolkata as the pilots realised after take off that its weather radar was not working. It is important to note that this is the third incident in the last 24 hours and at least the eighth incident of technical malfunction happening on SpiceJet aircraft just within the last 18 days.

On Tuesday, the airline reported that its Delhi-Dubai flight was diverted to Karachi in the wake of a malfunctioning fuel indicator and its Kandla-Mumbai flight did priority landing in Maharashtra's capital city after cracks developed on its windshield mid-air.

"On July 5, 2022, SpiceJet Boeing 737 freighter was scheduled to operate from Kolkata to Chongqing. After take-off, the weather radar was not showing the weather. The PIC (pilot-in-command) decided to return to Kolkata. The aircraft landed safely at Kolkata," SpiceJet spokesperson told PTI on Wednesday.