90 SpiceJet pilots barred from flying Boeing 737 Max

Mukesh Ranjan

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 13

Civil aviation regulator DGCA today barred 90 SpiceJet pilots from flying the Boeing 737 Max aircraft after finding them not properly trained. A senior official in the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said as an immediate course of action, these pilots had been barred from flying the Max aircraft and the airline had been asked to get them re-trained. The regulator said “strict action would be taken against those found responsible for the lapse”. The pilots would have to undergo training again in a proper manner on the Max simulator, he said. The Max planes were grounded by the DGCA in India on March 13, 2019, three days after the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines aircraft near Addis Ababa, which left 157 dead, including four Indians.

Re-training Advised

Pilots were found not properly trained to fly the planes
SpiceJet currently operates 11 Boeing Max aircraft
144 pilots are required to operate these aircraft

The ban was lifted in August last year after the DGCA was satisfied with US-based Boeing’s necessary software rectifications in the aircraft. Proper pilot training on the simulator was also among the conditions of the DGCA for removing the ban on the Max planes after a span of 27 months.

A SpiceJet spokesperson is reported to have confirmed that the DGCA had restricted 90 pilots from flying the Max planes. “SpiceJet has 650 pilots trained on the Boeing 737 Max. The DGCA had an observation on the training profile followed for 90 pilots,” he said.