India bans 90 Spicejet pilots from flying the 737 MAX

In an unprecedented move, India bans 90 Spicejet pilots from flying the 737 MAX. This will remain in place «until they receive proper training».

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The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) took this action after detecting anomalies in the simulator training these pilots underwent. Arun Kumar, director-general of the DGCA, told the Times of India that «these (90) pilots have been prevented from flying the Boeing 737 MAX.» The executive added that before being re-authorized, «they will have to undergo a new training process that satisfies our requirements.» Kumar also mentioned that the training of the rest of the airline’s pilots will be under scrutiny.

A SpiceJet spokesperson confirmed the move: «The DGCA made an observation on the training of 90 of our pilots. Because of this, we have removed these individuals from the MAX flight line, who will be retrained until they meet the authority requirements.»

The airline, which currently operates 11 of its 13 MAXs, indicated that the 60 daily flights operated on these aircraft will not be affected. «The 11 MAXs require about 144 pilots. We currently have 560 people qualified for the type. This is more than enough to continue normal operations,» closed the spokesman.

Sources of the cited publication indicated that the MCAS system was not working properly in the simulator during the training of these pilots. In addition, the stick shaker subsystem was also not operational.

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As a reminder, the MCAS was responsible for the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines accidents. In these accidents, which occurred in October 2018 and March 2019 respectively, 346 people lost their lives. Pilot training in the MAX simulator is a prerequisite for obtaining the rating to fly this type of aircraft.

SpiceJet is currently the only Indian airline operating the Boeing 737 MAX.