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Two SpiceJet aircraft were caught in separate cases of mid-air trouble on Tuesday, adding to the woes of the cash-starved airline, which has been grappling with a spate of incidents the past two months.
Including these two cases, there have been as many as seven incidents involving Spicejet planes since May.
A Dubai-bound plane that took off from Delhi was diverted to Karachi on Tuesday. Around 150 passengers onboard were said to be safe. Aviation regulator DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) has initiated a probe into the matter.
Spicejet said the aircraft had to be diverted as an indicator light was malfunctioning. The aircraft landed safely at Karachi and passengers were safely disembarked. No emergency was declared and the aircraft made a normal landing.
In another incident, a Q400 turboprop aircraft of SpiceJet from Kandla, Gujarat, made a priority landing in Mumbai after its outer windshield developed a crack mid-air, said the airline.
Officials said the Kandla-Mumbai flight of SpiceJet was at an altitude of 23,000 feet when the windshield’s outer pane cracked.
All passengers and crew members were safe, the airline said in a statement.
“During cruise, the windshield of the outer pane of one side cracked. Associated non-normal checklist actions were carried out. Pressurisation was observed to be normal. Priority landing was carried out and aircraft landed safely at BOM (Bombay),” SpiceJet said.
Sources at DGCA said they were separately investigating the incidents as they were not connected to each other. However, the regulator has been concerned over the impact on the airline’s maintenance procedures due to its financial crunch.
Last November, the regulator audited SpiceJet’s fleet under a special provision that applies to financially starved airlines. The DGCA financial audits are done on airlines to assess the impact of financial stress on safety of operations.
The regulator is also conducting surprise spot checks of aircraft of all airlines to ensure that their maintenance is not compromised.
SpiceJet said that the airline is working with all its partners and vendors to have smooth operations. “We have access to requisite parts to support our operations. The airline is working with all its partners and vendors to have smooth operations, which is evident from its present level of operations,” an airline spokesperson said.
Recently SpiceJet had removed its chief of flight safety Anushree Verma after being pulled by DGCA where 12 passengers were severely injured after a SpiceJet aircraft from Mumbai to Durgapur passed through heavy turbulence. The aircraft, in violation of DGCA rules was ferried to Kolkata without any examination for structural defect.
Sources said that preliminary investigation by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau found that manual and faulty radar as the reason behind the incident.
SpiceJet denied that Verma’s removal was due to the Durgapur incident and termed it as an organisational decision. “Captain Anushree was re-designated as OSD to Chairman after the post fell vacant. The DGCA was duly apprised of the move,” the airline said.
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