SpiceJet pilots have reliability issues with weather radar

The Boeing 737-800 aircraft of SpiceJet carrying 195 passengers encountered severe turbulence due to the thunderstorm, on its way to Durgapur from Mumbai on May 1.

Investigation into the incident was handed over to the AAIB, as it was classified as an accident due to passengers sustaining serious injuries. Out of the 14 passengers and three cabin crew who sustained injuries, two had severe injuries to their spine and shoulder and had been admitted to ICU.

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Board (AAIB), investigates aircraft accidents and is a division of the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Board (AAIB) took over the probe into severe turbulence on a SpiceJet flight that left people injured, even as experts blamed inclement weather for the incident and called for the investigation to ascertain the crew’s response to it.

The investigation also found that SpiceJet’s maintenance control centre (MCC) was aware of the reliability issue of the radar.

"The pilot deviated to his left in order to avoid turbulence but did not get alerted about the upcoming issue in his deviated path. The two operating pilots acted on the information on the weather pattern in the first instance, they weren’t aware of the air pocket that caused the turbulence after deviating from the path."SpiceJet official

The turbulence that is hard to detect is called ‘clear air turbulence’ because it presents without other indicators. Not all turbulence can be forecasted or seen in advance. This incident highlights the necessity of wearing your seatbelt at all times, especially during critical phases of flight.

The Mumbai-Durgapur SpiceJet flight encountered severe turbulence during its descent phase.

According to the preliminary investigation report, on April 30, pilots of the aircraft, VT-SLH, while operating from Delhi to Kolkata, found that the radar was not depicting the weather correctly. Following the landing at Kolkata, the commander of the aircraft made an entry of the issue in the pilot defect report (PDR).

ALSO READ - Spicejet mid-air turbulence – here’s what is known so far

While the aircraft operated on four other sectors the next day, it faced inclement weather conditions during its last flight over Durgapur. At least three other flights that were routed to fly over the same region on that day deviated and opted for longer routings to avoid the storm, while the SpiceJet aircraft flew straight into it.

According to the preliminary investigation report, on April 30, pilots of the aircraft, VT-SLH, while operating from Delhi to Kolkata, found that the radar was not depicting the weather correctly.

A maintenance engineer in Mumbai informed the Maintenance Control Centre (MCC) about the snag. The engineer was told that they were aware of the reliability issue and that there was a shortage of high-cost spares like weather radar, according to the draft report.

As per instruction from the MCC, he then carried out an operational check and found the weather radar patterns satisfactory and informed the MCC to monitor the aircraft further, the report added.

India’s aviation regulator DGCA has launched an inspection on the entire SpiceJet aircraft fleet after the incident. It has also taken off the roster of the flight’s crew, aircraft maintenance engineer (AME) and in charge of SpiceJet’s maintenance control centre pending a probe. 

(With Inputs from The Economic Times)

After launching expressway projects worth almost Rs 1 trillion, the Uttar Pradesh government is now betting big on the aviation sector to propel the state’s economic growth.

Air travel, comprising both business and leisure, is expected to give a fillip to the socioeconomic landscape by attracting fresh investment. It would also ramp up infrastructure and create jobs.

Helitaxi service will also help in giving tourism a boost in these cities. 

The Yogi Adityanath government is facilitating the development of big-ticket airports, including the international aviation hub at Jewar in Greater Noida. It is also setting up heliports at major tourist hotspots like Agra, Mathura and Lucknow.

ALSO READ - Jewar Airport has the potential to make Noida what Delhi Airport made Gurgaon

The heliports projects, to be developed under the public-private partnership (PPP) model, will be awarded to operators after competitive bidding. The heliport services are slated to be launched in all major religious and ecotourism hubs across the state.

Five companies have already been shortlisted by the UP tourism department. The five companies are Fly Blade India, Rajas Adventure, Oasis, Shaurya Aeronautics and Shirisha Technologies. Fly Blade operates air services in Shirdi (Maharashtra) and Rajas Adventure operates seaplanes in Gujarat.

This initiative is being taken to reduce traffic congestion on roads.

“The financial bids of these companies will soon be opened before the proposal is sent to the state cabinet for approval,” a state government official said.

The heliport services are slated to be launched in all major religious and ecotourism hubs across the state. During this period, the state saw the arrival of nearly 1.25 billion domestic and 12.5 million foreign backpackers.

The government is bullish on aviation’s potential, considering that inward tourist flow to UP surged nearly 27 per cent in the last five years. During this period, the state saw the arrival of nearly 1.25 billion domestic and 12.5 million foreign backpackers.

Major heliports to be set up in Uttar Pradesh to operate copter taxis

In 2018, the UP government promulgated a new tourism policy, which so far has fetched 1,084 tourism development projects worth Rs 3,000 crore. Several tourism projects were also launched at the third ground-breaking ceremony in Lucknow on June 3, 2022.

"The tourism and hospitality sector is witnessing a rapid recovery in the post-Covid scenario. It is leading to a spurt in demand for hotel rooms and allied hospitality services." An Official said.

Terming UP as the driving force of new India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on the occasion, launched projects worth Rs 80,000 crore across different sectors, including infra and tourism.

Earlier, projects worth Rs 1.25 trillion had already been launched at the previous two ground-breaking ceremonies. The Adityanath government 1.0 (2017-22) had garnered investment proposals totalling Rs 4.68 trillion at the 2018 Investor Summit.

(With Inputs from Business Standard)

A bomb threat, which turned out to be a hoax, delayed an IndiGo flight at Kempegowda International Airport on Sunday, August 7 night. The passengers on board the Indigo flight from Jaipur to Bengaluru were finally allowed to leave their flight at 2 AM Monday, August 8.

IndiGo flight 6E 556 from Jaipur to Bengaluru carrying 175 passengers had an emergency on Sunday night before it could land at Kempegowda International Airport after an anonymous message citing a bomb on board the flight was found scrawled on a tissue paper in a toilet.

The threat note was found scrawled on tissue paper in a toilet.

The message that was written in Hindi on tissue paper was found by a cabin crew member in the rear toilet who said, "Land na karna, Is flight mai bomb hai" (Do not land, there is a bomb in this flight). The staff who spotted the bomb threat message alerted the cockpit crew who then contacted the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and the Air Traffic Control unit.

The Flight Captain contacted the security agencies at KIA and landed the flight after receiving clearance. The flight landed after 9:30 pm and it was taken to an isolated bay.

Hoax bomb threat on IndiGo flight

The Bomb Disposal and Detection squad, dog squad and CISF carried out massive checks. All the passengers were double checked and handwriting samples were collected from everyone. The baggage of all flyers were isolated and individual checks carried out.

The samples of suspected passengers have been sent to the Forensics Science Lab for examination. The possibility that someone else could have written it and the tissue merely left behind by a passenger inside the toilet was also being explored.

''As a precautionary measure, the aircraft was taken to a remote bay and the bomb threat process was initiated. A standby aircraft was arranged for the passengers to avoid further delay and inconvenience.''IndiGo said in a statement.

The threat was declared a hoax after the bomb squad, canine squad and personnel of the CISF probed and gave the clearance.

ALSO READ - IndiGo aircraft halted at Patna airport after hoax bomb call

The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), on Monday, August 8, said the Indian aviation sector is likely to employ 1 lakh people directly in the next two years.

According to figures stated by MoCA, the current direct employment number stands at 2,50,000 which includes pilots, cabin crew, engineers, technicians, airport staff, ground handling, cargo, retail, security, administrative and sales staff.

Indian aviation sector to employ 1 lakh people directly in the next 2 years

"Conservative estimates show that the current direct employment in the aviation and aeronautical manufacturing sector is around 2,50,000 employees. This is expected to increase to around 3,50,000 by 2024," Reported PTI citing the MoCA. The ministry said the ratio of indirect to direct jobs in aviation is around 4:8.

"To cater to the expected traffic growth, the fleet size of Indian carriers is expected to grow substantially which would require an additional… around 10,000 pilots during the next five years," it added.

During 2019, 2020 and 2021, at least 2,368, 400 and 296 pilots were recruited, the ministry stated in the report, adding that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued 862 Commercial Pilot Licenses in 2021, which is an all-time high.

During 2019, 2020 and 2021, at least 2,368, 400 and 296 pilots were recruited

Keeping the aim of building human capital, the MoCA has mentioned that there are a total of 35 Flying Training Organisations in India, which are approved by the DGCA.

Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said the country's aviation sector is poised for phenomenal and healthy growth in terms of passengers, aircraft and airports, with the number of air travellers projected to touch 40 crores by 2027.

Scindia emphasised growth in the market, fleet and airports. He mentioned that India is going to add 15% capacity, which boils down to 100 or 110 aircraft per year and it is looking to at close to 1,200 aircraft by 2027.

India is going to add 15% capacity, which boils down to 100 or 110 aircraft per year and it is looking to at close to 1,200 aircraft by 2027.

At present, India has a total of 136 airports, out of which only 109 are operational. Out of the 109, 24 are customs airports and 75 are domestic. While the number of operational airports has gone up in the last decade, the passenger handling capacity has also increased significantly from 219.96 million in 2014 to 407.27 million in 2022.

ALSO READ - Indian aviation sector to see investments worth INR 98,000 crore over next 4 years

The report mentioned that capital expenditure in the civil aviation sector rose as well from INR 1,399.87 crore in 2014-15 to INR 5,418.73 crore in 2022-23. The domestic tariff has more than doubled, from nearly 61 million in FY 2013-14 to around 137 million in FY 2019-20.

ALSO READ - DGCA to hire 100-150 people over next 6-8 months for enhanced aviation safety surveillance

Air India, IndiGo and SpiceJet reported 184, 98 and 77 incidents due to technical snags during the one year till June 30, Minister of State for Civil Aviation V K Singh said on Monday, August 8.

Go First, Vistara and AirAsia India reported 50, 40 and 14 incidents due to technical snags in the aforementioned period, he said in his written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha.

While the government-run airline Alliance Air reported five incidents, Air India Express had 10 incidents in the one year, he stated. The Tata Group took control of Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express on January 27 after successfully winning the bid for the airline on October 8, 2021.

Air India, IndiGo and SpiceJet reported 184, 98 and 77 incidents due to technical snags during the one year till June 3

Overall, a "total of 478 incidents of technical snags were reported in last one year between July 1, 2021, and June 30, 2022", Singh noted. An aircraft may experience technical snags due to malfunctioning components or equipment fitted on the aircraft, he said.

These technical snags are reported by the flight crew on receiving an aural or visual warning in the cockpit or when there is an indication of an inoperative or faulty system or while experiencing difficulty in handling or operating the aircraft, he noted.

ALSO READ - DGCA orders SpiceJet to operate only 50% of approved flights

Currently, SpiceJet is operating not more than 50% of its flights as per the orders of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

Go First, Vistara and AirAsia India reported 50, 40 and 14 incidents due to technical snags in the aforementioned period

The regulator had in July imposed the curb on the airline's flights for eight weeks as its planes were involved in at least eight incidents of technical malfunction in the June 19-July 5 periods.

The DGCA chief issued a statement regarding the back-to-back technical snags in aircraft last month. He said an aircraft may “continue to be used for air operation subject to compliance to rules and regulations".

An aircraft is a complex machine and has many components that may continue to be used for air operations provided it is compliant with airworthiness requirements as laid down by the DGCA. During the last two months, planes of other Indian carriers have also reported multiple incidents of technical malfunction.

Air India is planning to lease six B777 aircraft for the first time in at least 10 years, officials aware of the matter said and added this was being done largely as poor interiors were delaying flights to North America.

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An official said flights to the US and Canada, specifically to Vancouver, have been delayed due to faulty seats recently. The airline recently made news for its plans of bringing back grounded widebodies and increasing flights to Vancouver.

Air India plans to lease B777s for long-haul flights to North America

Demand for direct flights to the US and Canada has skyrocketed in recent times, with the COVID pandemic becoming less severe. The leased aircraft will increase the frequency of Air India's existing North American flights and possibly add more destinations.

ALSO READ - Air India to increase its flight frequency between New Delhi and Vancouver

“Taking into account the impact on the airline operations, it has been decided that the airline will lease six B777 to operate its ultra-long-haul flights [lasting over 16 hours),” an airline official said, requesting anonymity. “The [existing] aircraft have no other issues.”

The leased aircraft will increase the frequency of Air India's existing North American flights and possibly add more destinations.

According to Flightradar24, which provides real-time information about aircraft globally, Air India’s Delhi-Vancouver flight was repeatedly delayed including by 11 hours on July 10.

The aircraft will be leased for two years and be used for flight operations within three months. “The aircraft is set to arrive by October and will be operated in addition to the current aircraft...” the official said.

A second official cited the current demand and added the airline plans to either increase the frequency of flights or add destinations. “The six leased aircraft will not replace the previous ones but will be additions to the fleet.”

Air India has a fleet of 141 narrow and wide-body Airbus and Boeing aircraft.

ALSO READ - Air India to add A350 aircraft to its fleet; first aircraft likely by 2023

The airline separately plans to buy around 50 Airbus A350-900 and 100 A321neo aircraft and induct them by the middle of next year. Last month, the airline asked its pilots to prepare for training on the A350-900 aircraft.

ALSO READ - Air India issues tender to sell 3 B777-200LR aircraft

The news of leasing additional 777s for long-haul flights comes even as the airline prepares to sell all three of its Boeing 777-200LR airplanes, which are less fuel efficient than the -300ER variant. Air India has a fleet of 141 narrow and wide-body Airbus and Boeing aircraft.

(With Inputs from Hindustan Times)