DGCA grounds Spicejet aircraft after it develops snag
NEW DELHI: A Spicejet Boeing 737-8 Max aircraft was grounded after it returned to Chennai minutes after taking off for West Bengal’s Durgapur on Tuesday, an airline spokesperson said.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has grounded the aircraft and has started an investigation into the incident, said senior officials familiar with the matter.
According to officials at Chennai airport, the aircraft took off around 7:40 pm and developed a snag shortly afterwards. The oil filter bypass on for engine number 2 flashed during the aircraft’s climb, prompting the pilot to take corrective action by shutting down the engine, one of the officials said on condition of anonymity.
“The pilot in command carried out inflight shutdown of the engine number two as per the quick reference handbooks... Air turn back was initiated after the checks were done and the pilot requested priority landing of the aircraft...,” the official said, adding that the aircraft landed around 7.45 pm.
“Spicejet flight SG-331 operating from Chennai to Durgapur on May 3 (Tuesday) returned to Chennai after taking off due to a technical issue. The aircraft landed back safely,” a Spicejet spokesperson said.
This is the second incident involving a Boeing 737 MAX since the ban on the aircraft was lifted by the DGCA in 2021. In December, a Kolkatabound Spicejet aircraft returned to Mumbai after take-off when one of its engines shut down.
Boeing 737 MAX aircraft resumed operations across the globe in December 2020 two years after they were grounded following the 2018 Lion Air and 2019 Ethiopian Airlines crashes left 346 people dead.
A faulty flight handling system meant to keep the plane from stalling as it ascends was blamed for the crashes. The automated system was found to have pushed the nose of the plane downwards.
Aviation authorities in the US later directed Boeing to revamp the planes and implement new training protocols for the pilots. The ban on Boeing 737 MAX was lifted in India in 2021.
Last month, the DGCA had barred 90 Spicejet pilots from flying 737 Max aircraft until they undergo the required training, citing issues with their simulator training. The airline restricted the pilots from operating the aircraft until they undergo retraining. These pilots remain available for other Boeing 737 aircraft.
Spicejet has 650 pilots trained for 737 MAX operations. It is the only Indian airline to operate this kind of 737 and has 11 such aircraft. Billionaire Rakesh Jhunjhunwala’s Akasa Air, which plans to begin operations this summer, has placed an order for 72 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.