The fines imposed by the Indian government on SpiceJet and Vistara were of one million rupees (about $12,900). First, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) penalized SpiceJet for training pilots of its Boeing 737 MAX on a faulty simulator. The same fate befell on Vistara for a landing performed by an unqualified pilot.
The Indian aviation regulator last month banned 90 SpiceJet pilots from operating the MAX after discovering they were being trained on a simulator that had an inoperative co-pilot stick shaker. The response submitted by the airline was not considered satisfactory by the regulator, so it decided to go ahead with the enforcement of the fine. A source consulted by CNBC pointed out that «the training provided by the airline could have affected flight safety and was banned».
Vistara suffered a similar fate
Vistara received the same fine as SpiceJet after the DGCA was notified that a first officer landed in Indore – a city in central India – being supervised by a captain who did not have a crew training clearance.
A senior DGCA executive told the Times of India that «this serious violation endangered everyone» on flight 913 on Aug. 9, 2021, which flew between Delhi and Indore. «Vistara was fined because the first officer who landed the aircraft did not complete his simulator training. In addition, the captain supervising him was not qualified to train crews,» the official added.
The airline responded by stating that «the crew was cleared for supervised flights by their former employer. When they switched to flying with Vistara, that authorization remained in effect. Safety is our priority, and that is why we voluntarily reported the incident to the authorities».
