The Director General of Civil Aviation has banned 90 SpiceJet pilots from flying the Boeing 737 Max aircraft after they found that they were not properly trained.
According to an Indian Express report, while the pilots were undergoing training some routine surveillance unearthed faults in the equipment concerning the flight controls.
Commenting on the incident, DGCA chief Arun Kumar said, “For the moment we have barred the pilots from flying the aircraft and they are required to retrain themselves on the Max simulator for flying the aircraft.”
He further said that they will take strict action against anyone found responsible for the lapse. However, this restriction will not impact the operations. Spice Jet operates 11 Max aircraft with 140 pilots.
On March 13, 2019, Boeing 737 Max planes were grounded in India by the DGCA three days after the crash of an Ethiopian Airline 737 Max aircraft near Addis Ababa killing 157 people. The toll also included four Indians.
Last year in August the ban was lifted after 27 months once the DGCA was satisfied with the US-based aircraft manufacturer Boeing’s necessary software changes.