The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Wednesday issued a show cause notice to SpiceJet in connection with an incident in which a Mumbai-Durgapur flight ran into severe turbulence and left 17 people injured last month.
In a notice to the airline, the aviation regulator has sought an explanation within a fortnight on why flight SG 945, which was carrying 195 passengers (including two pilots and four cabin crew), decided to go ahead with the landing despite the turbulence, a DGCA official familiar with the matter said.
The airline, however, said a show cause notice was already issued to them immediately after the incident and that a response has already been submitted.
“The Air Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has conducted a preliminary investigation based on which the airline has been issued a show cause notice. The airline has been asked to submit their response within a fortnight,” the official said, seeking not to be named.
Flight SG 945, which on May 1 took off from Mumbai at 5.13 pm, encountered severe turbulence during its descent phase at Durgapur airport at around 7.15 pm. At least 14 passengers and three cabin crew members were injured as cabin baggage fell on them during the turbulence. They were shifted to the hospital after the aircraft landed. Two injured passengers were admitted to the intensive care unit.
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.
{{/usCountry}}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.
{{/usCountry}}While the DGCA has constituted a team to probe the incident, it also took off the roster the flight’s crew, aircraft maintenance engineer (AME) and in-charge of SpiceJet’s maintenance control centre pending investigation. It has also decided to carry out an inspection of the entire SpiceJet aircraft fleet.
Union civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said the “matter is being dealt with utmost seriousness & deftness”.
“The DGCA will initiate action against the airline after their response is submitted,” a second DGCA official aware of the developments said, seeking anonymity.
An airline spokesperson said a notice was already issued earlier by the DGCA.
“No fresh showcause notice has been received from DGCA. Replies to the showcause notice issued immediately after the incident had been submitted by the airline in May 2022,” the spokesperson said.
The aviation regulator issues monsoon guidelines in the form of civil aviation requirements (CARs) and air safety regulators. A serviceable weather radar is a mandatory requirement and important aid to pilots during the monsoons.
“Preliminary probe points out issues with the weather radar of the aircraft that did not allow the pilot to assess the bad weather. However, further details will be known once the airline submits its response,” the second DGCA official said.
According to a SpiceJet official, most of the airline’s aircraft are fitted with radars that consist of both auto and manual features. However, four of its Lima series’ aircraft have only manual operating features, the official said on condition of anonymity.