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Journalism of Courage
SpiceJet decided to continue training its pilots at a Boeing 737 MAX simulator facility near Delhi despite knowing that equipment at the said training centre was faulty, official sources told The Indian Express. Aviation safety regulator DGCA, which barred 90 pilots of the airline from flying the 737 MAX model till they undergo retraining on a compliant simulator, has served a show-cause notice to SpiceJet and Canadian flight training service provider CAE, which manages the simulator facility.
According to a senior official at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), during a routine inspection on March 30 it was found that the Boeing 737 MAX simulator had a malfunctioning ‘stick shaker’ on the co-pilot seat. A stick shaker is a mechanical device that warns the pilots of an imminent aerodynamic stall by shaking the aircraft’s control yoke violently. The said piece of equipment had been out of service since March 17.
Notably, specific pilot training for the Boeing 737 MAX is mandatory for airlines operating the plane model to make pilots understand the new flight control system in the aircraft called MCAS, or manoeuvring characteristics augmentation system. This system was at the heart of the two crashes of this aircraft type that together killed 346 people, leading to a global grounding of the plane.
Upon discovery of the faulty equipment at the CAE-managed training facility in Noida, the DGCA inspectors reached out to Boeing seeking the American airframe maker’s view on whether training could be conducted with a malfunctioning stick shaker on co-pilot seat. “Boeing replied that such training should not be conducted. Reply was then sought from SpiceJet regarding this issue, to which they replied that they have taken in house measure to continue such training. However, the OEM (Boeing) was not consulted by the operator (SpiceJet)”, the DGCA official said. “The simulator training was stopped by DGCA … and the credit of training for 90 pilots was nullified. Further, SpiceJet was informed not to utilise these pilots for B737 MAX flight operations,” the official added.
Additionally, the DGCA also served show-cause notices to SpiceJet and CAE for conducting the training that was in violation of the rules laid down by the regulator — specifically mentioning that a flight simulation training device with missing, malfunctioning or inoperative component “that is required to be present and correctly operate for the satisfactory completion of that maneuver, procedure, or task” should not be used or be allowed for use.
In response to a query from The Indian Express seeking comment on why the airline decided to continue training at a faulty simulator facility, a SpiceJet spokesperson said: “We have received a communication from the regulator on the matter and the airline shall submit its reply within the specified period. We would like to reiterate that safety and security of our operations and passengers are of utmost importance which is manifested in our outstanding track record. None of our operations are compromised and are in line with international safety standards”.
CAE responded via mail saying: “As the simulator is owned by Boeing, please speak to Boeing. We are working closely with all parties involved including Boeing and the DGCA to ensure the maintenance and operation of this specific device complies with all regulatory requirements. We are committed to ensuring our customers receive high quality simulation experiences in accordance with all regulations”. In a similarly worded response to a query sent by this newspaper, Boeing in India said: “We are working closely with all parties involved including our supplier and the DGCA to ensure the maintenance and operation of this specific device complies with all regulatory requirements. We are committed to ensuring our customers receive high quality simulation experiences in accordance with all regulations.”
