SpiceJet Fine: SpiceJet trains pilots on bad simulator, DGCA fines 10 lakhs

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh on airline SpiceJet for training pilots of 737 MAX aircraft on a faulty simulator. On March 30, a team of DGCA checked these simulators at CSTPL, Greater Noida. Which revealed that the MMI of the stick shaker on the P2 side for the B737 MAX aircraft was not at all in the simulator. After this, a show cause notice was issued to SpiceJet. Fine was imposed on the company’s reply not being satisfactory.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) last month barred 90 SpiceJet pilots from operating the Max aircraft for not being properly trained. It was found that the ‘stick shaker’ on the co-pilot’s side was not working in the simulator on which the pilot was trained. The ‘stick shaker’ warns the pilot when the plane stops during the flight.

Sources said that after banning these pilots, the regulator had issued a show-cause notice to the airline in April. He said that the reply received from the airline was not found satisfactory. According to sources, the training being imparted by the airline could adversely affect flight safety and hence the ban was imposed.

Sources said the DGCA has imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh on SpiceJet for using a faulty simulator to train the pilot of its Max aircraft. The airline did not respond to a statement on the matter. Ethiopian Airlines’ 737 MAX plane crashed near Addis Ababa, killing 157 people, including four Indians. Three days after this incident, the DGCA stopped the operation of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in India on March 13, 2019.

The ban on the aircraft was lifted in August last year after the DGCA was satisfied with the necessary software improvements in the aircraft of US-based Boeing. The conditions laid down by the DGCA for lifting the ban on MAX aircraft also included proper training to the pilot on the simulator. SpiceJet is the only Indian airline to have MAX aircraft in its fleet.

Aakash Air, a new airline backed by investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and aviation tycoons Aditya Ghosh and Vinay Dubey, in November last year signed an agreement with Boeing for the purchase of 72 MAX aircraft. Akash Air has not received any of these aircraft so far.