Reliance biz jet grounded for violations, JSPL under scanner

The 13-seater Global Express BD 700 aircraft, owned by JSPL carried operations manuals of other aircraft and not its own.

Aviation regulator DGCA on Saturday, grounded a business jet owned by Reliance Industries for carrying expired safety equipment on board and suspended its pilot for flying without a licence.

The aviation regulator, which carried out surprise inspection at Delhi’s IGI Airport, also searched the Global Express BD 700 aircraft belonging to Jindal Steel and Power Limited’s and found several major lapses, official sources said. While action against Jindal would be decided on Monday, the Reliance aircraft was grounded immediately, just before it was slated to take off, a source said.

The 14-seater Falcon 900EX registered in the name of Reliance Commercial Dealers Limited, was grounded after it was found that most safety equipment on board, including a fire extinguisher and personal breathing equipment, were beyond expiry dates. The commander of the aircraft was also not carrying his licence and the co-pilot was not in possession of mandatory documents. The 13-seater Global Express BD 700 aircraft, owned by JSPL carried operations manuals of other aircraft and not its own. It did not have the list of safety and emergency gear on board.

Following the downgrade of Indian aviation safety system by the US Federal Aviation Administration on January 31, the DGCA has been conducting such surprise checks on a regular basis, apart from taking other action so that it can restore its top-tier safety rating.