SpiceJet fined Rs 10 lakh by the DGCA for using faulty simulators to train pilots

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• May 31, 2022 | Poonam Nath

DGCA had restricted 90 SpiceJet pilots from operating B737 Max planes after discovering that they had been trained on a malfunctioning simulator.

Digital Desk: In a recent enclosure, SpiceJet was fined Rs 10 lakh by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Monday for training 737 Max aircraft pilots on a faulty simulator.

The aviation authorities had already restricted 90 SpiceJet pilots from operating B737 Max aircraft when it was discovered that they had been trained on a malfunctioning simulator. They were told they needed to be retrained.

Notably, On March 13, 2019, the DGCA ordered the grounding of Boeing 737 Max planes in India, three days after an Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max airliner crashed near Addis Ababa, killing 157 people, including four Indians.

However, the planes' prohibition was lifted in August of last year after the DGCA was satisfied that Boeing, a US-based aircraft manufacturer, had made the necessary software corrections to the planes.

According to DGCA, they also included proper simulator pilot training as one of the prerequisites for removing the ban on the Max planes after 27 months.

SpiceJet is the only Indian airline that flies the Boeing 737, Max.

In November of last year, Akasa Air, a new airline backed by ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and aviation veterans Aditya Ghosh and Vinay Dube, sealed an agreement with Boeing to buy 72 Max jets. These planes have not yet been delivered to Akasa Air.

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