DGCA suspends two GoAir pilots over runway excursion

A DGCA probe had revealed that the cockpit crew violated mandatory aviation requirements as they continued to land even after losing visual reference at about 50 feet over Bengaluru airport.

The aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has suspended the license of a GoAir captain for six months and that of a co-pilot for three months for a runway excursion that took place in November last year.

GoaAir’s Airbus A320neo aircraft, operating as G8 811 (Nagpur to Bengaluru), had overshot the runway during landing on November 11. (Photo: GoAir)

The low cost carrier’s Airbus A320neo aircraft, operating as G8 811 (Nagpur to Bengaluru), had overshot the runway during landing on November 11.

A DGCA probe had revealed that the cockpit crew violated mandatory aviation requirements as they continued to land even after losing visual reference at about 50 feet over Bengaluru airport. “The crew considered wrong visual reference as runway centreline and maneuvered the aircraft to the left of runway 09. The first officer did not monitor flight path deviation in the cockpit instruments thus failed to give call for deviation,” the DCGA said.

DGCA had issued a show cause notice to pilots asking them why action shouldn’t be taken against them. The pilots, however, accepted their mistakes and were suspended.