July 17, 2019:
Two pilots of SpiceJet who damaged runway edge lights during landing and a pilot and cabin crew who were involved in a physical altercation have been suspended by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for six months for allegedly violating safety norms of aviation.
The two SpiceJet pilots are Captain Saurabh Gulia & Aarati Gunsekaran who had damaged runway edge lights during landing in Kolkata on July 2. They were operating a B737 aircraft on Pune-Kolkata route. A DGCA order accessed by ANI said, "The aircraft touched down approximately 1,300 feet from runway threshold point & touched down right of the runway centreline with 7 degrees of roll angle towards right which resulted in the aircraft further veering to the right of the centreline & damaging runway edge lights."
Both the pilots were served a show-cause notice & DGCA found their replies were not satisfactory.
In the case of Air India flight which was an A319 aircraft operating in the Bengaluru-Kolkata route on June 17, the investigation revealed that the pilot in command Captain Milind & cabin crew Rajat Verman were involved in a heated argument & physical altercation when the aircraft was on the ground during pre-departure phase & preparation for departure was in progress.
Both were served show-cause notices & the DGCA found their replies were not satisfactory.
All the four were suspended for six months from the date of the incidents, the order said.
Source Link
