Spicejet fined ₹10L for using faulty simulator

Neha LM Tripathi

NEW DELHI: Budget carrier Spicejet has been fined ₹10 lakh by the aviation regulator for training pilots to fly its Boeing B737 MAX aircraft on a faulty simulator.

The compromised training could have adversely affected flight safety, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said on Monday.

It nullified the training. “Spicejet

was issued a show cause notice and their reply was not found satisfactory,” the regulator said in a statement.

The directorate had suspended 90 pilots after inspecting the simulator on March 30 at the premises of CAE Simulation Training Pvt Ltd in Greater Noida on the outskirts of the capital. The faulty simulator was being operated to conduct return to service training for Spicejet pilots, which was in violation of norms, it had said.

Spicejet, which has trained 650 pilots to fly the Boeing 737 MAX, is the only Indian airline to operate the planes. It has 11 such aircraft in its fleet. Billionaire Rakesh Jhunjhunwala’s Akasa Air, which plans to begin operations this summer, has ordered 72 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.

Spicejet spokesperson had then said 144 pilots are required to operate the 11 aircraft.

“Of the 650 trained pilots on the MAX, 560 continue to remain available, which is much more than the current requirement,” the airline had maintained.

Boeing 737 MAX resumed operations in December 2020, two years after they were grounded post the 2018 Lion Air and 2019 Ethiopian Airlines crashes, which left 346 people dead.

A faulty flight handling system meant to keep the plane from stalling as it ascended was blamed for the crashes. The automated system was found to have pushed the nose of the plane downwards.

THE COMPROMISED TRAINING COULD HAVE ADVERSELY AFFECTED FLIGHT SAFETY, SAID THE DGCA ON MONDAY