DGCA to probe in-flight turbulence, says Scindia
NEW DELHI/KOLKATA: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has constituted a team to investigate the severe turbulence on Spicejet’s Mumbai-durgapur flight that left 17 people injured on Sunday evening, Union civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Monday.
The aviation regulator also took off the roster the flight’s crew, aircraft maintenance engineer (AME) and in-charge of Spicejet’s maintenance control centre, and has decided to carry out an inspection of the entire SpiceJet aircraft fleet, officials familiar with the matter said.
Taking note of Sunday’s incident, Scindia tweeted: “The turbulence encountered by a flight while landing in Durgapur, and the damage caused to the passengers is unfortunate. The @DGCAINDIA has deputed a team to investigate the incident. The matter is being dealt with utmost seriousness & deftness. More details on the cause (s) will be shared once the investigation is completed.”
Spicejet aircraft SG-945 carrying 195 passengers (including two pilots and four cabin crew), which took off from Mumbai at 5.13pm on Sunday, encountered severe turbulence during its descent into Durgapur airport at around 7:15pm. At least 14 passengers and three cabin crew members were injured as cabin baggage fell on them.
According to a DGCA official, “not only were the crew off-rostered, but also, the aircraft maintenance engineer (AME) who released the aircraft from Durgapur and in-charge of maintenance control centre of Spicejet pending investigation were off rostered.”
“The involved aircraft remains to be grounded at Kolkata. As a regulatory measure, the DGCA is carrying out inspection of the Spicejet fleet,” the official added, asking not to be named.
Providing details of the incident, the DGCA official said: “During descent, the aircraft experienced severe turbulence and the vertical load factor varied from +2.64G and -1.36G. During this period, the autopilot got disengaged for two minutes and the crew manually flew the aircraft,” the official said.
Oxygen panels of the Boeing B737-800 opened and oxygen masks fell out. The handrests of a few seats and overhead decorative panels were damaged in the incident. While one cabin overhead bin lock was found broken, items from the galley were seen strewn in the aisle, the official added.
The airline said the seat belt sign was on and multiple announcements were made by crew members asking passengers to remain seated during the turbulence. “Multiple announcements were made by the pilots and the crew instructing passengers to remain seated and keep their seat belt fastened. Due to severe turbulence, injuries were caused to a few passengers. Timely medical assistance was provided upon arrival,” a SpiceJet spokesperson said.
A passenger said they encountered turbulence before they could put on their seat belts. “Passengers were asked to fasten the seat belts. But before they could do it, the turbulence started. Those who could fasten the belt escaped unhurt... Everything had gone haywire,” Amit Baul, a passenger who was seated on the last row, said.
“At present, three passengers are hospitalised. Two passengers are in the ICU in a Durgapur hospital...” the official said.
Aviation safety expert Mohan Ranganathan said it appeared as though the aircraft was being flown at a high speed during the turbulence. “They should have reduced their speed and should have come down to a turbulent penetration speed. This may probably be one of the reasons why passengers were severely injured,” he said.