DGCA slaps Rs 10 lakh fine on SpiceJet for faulty training of Max aircraft pilots

New Delhi, May 30: The aviation regulator DGCA has imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh on SpiceJet for training its Boeing 737 Max aircraft's pilots on a faulty simulator as it could have adversely impacted flight safety, sources said on Monday.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had last month barred 90 SpiceJet pilots from operating the Max aircraft after it found them being trained on a simulator that had its stick shaker on the co-pilot's side inoperative. Stick shaker warns pilots whenever it detects that the plane has stalled mid-air.

After barring the pilots, the regulator issued a show-cause notice to the airline in April, the sources told PTI. The response sent by the airline was not found satisfactory, they mentioned.

"The training being imparted by the airline could have adversely affected flight safety and hence was nullified," one of the sources said. Therefore, the DGCA has imposed a penalty of Rs 10 lakh on SpiceJet for using a faulty simulator to train their Max aircraft's pilots, the sources said. The airline did not respond to PTI's request for a statement on this matter.

The DGCA grounded Boeing 737 Max planes in India on March 13, 2019, three days after an Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max aircraft crashed near Addis Ababa, killing 157 people including four Indians. The ban on the planes was lifted in August last year after the DGCA was satisfied with US-based aircraft manufacturer Boeing's necessary software rectifications in the aircraft.
Proper pilot training on the simulator was also among the conditions set by the DGCA for lifting the ban on the Max planes after a span of 27 months. SpiceJet is the only Indian airline that has the Max aircraft in its fleet.

Akasa Air, the new airline backed by ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and aviation veterans Aditya Ghosh and Vinay Dube, had in November last year signed a deal with Boeing to purchase 72 Max planes. Akasa Air has not received any of these planes as yet. PTI