DGCA slaps ₹10 lakh fine on SpiceJet for training 737 Max aircraft pilots on faulty simulator
Earlier, the DGCA had barred 90 SpiceJet pilots from flying B737 Max aircraft
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Monday imposed ₹10 lakh fine on no-frills airline SpiceJet for training 737 Max aircraft's pilots on a faulty simulator.
Earlier, the DGCA had barred 90 SpiceJet pilots from flying B737 Max aircraft. The pilots will have to be retrained, the regulator had ordered.
It said, "training being imparted by SpiceJet could have adversely affected flight safety and was nullified."
This happened within eight months of the DGCA lifting a ban on Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. While it was grounded worldwide from March 2019 to December 2020 following two crashes — in Indonesia and Ethiopia — killing 346, DGCA lifted the ban much later in August last year.
The faults were detected during a surveillance check by the regulator at the Greater Noida-based facility of CAE Simulation Training Pvt Ltd (CSTPL), which is a joint venture between IndiGo promoter Rahul Bhatia’s Interglobe Enterprise and Canada-based flight simulator company CAE.
CSTPL has only approved 737 MAX simulator in India. This was installed by Boeing as part of a compensation package it provided to SpiceJet due to the business loss caused by the two-year grounding of the aircraft.
Scheduled surveillance checks and surprise audits are done by the regulator to find inefficiencies in the safety system of airlines, airports, flying training organisations and simulators to find deficiencies and implement corrective measures.
During such a check, the DGCA surveillance team found that the stick shaker of the simulator was non-functional. Stick shaker is an instrument which vibrates rapidly when the aircraft is stalling, failing to lift itself.
The computer compares the current signal against a default value that indicates safe flight. If the sensor signal exceeds that value, it vibrates rapidly enough to make the pilot’s hands shake to attract his attention.
Reports said that while the stick shaker was functional on the commander’s side, the one meant for the co-pilot (first officer) developed a fault and was non-functional.
The system was dysfunctional since March 17 due to a faulty component which CSTPL imports from abroad. Hence, all co-pilots who have done simulator training will have to undergo the extra two hours of training once again.
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