India’s low-cost airline SpiceJet, which is already under scrutiny from regulators over recurring glitches, faced yet another technical snag in a Dubai-bound aircraft, said a report.

The Boeing Co. 737 next-generation jet, which is eight years old, had travelled from India to Dubai on Monday. A technical issue with its nose wheel was discovered after the plane landed, Bloomberg news agency reported quoting people familiar with the matter.

The technical snag was not life-threatening and all passengers and crew got off safely, the report said.

However, in a statement to Bloomberg News, SpiceJet denied any incident or safety scare and said the delay from Dubai was caused by a last-minute technical issue.

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The airline arranged for an alternate aircraft to operate the flight. “Flight delays can happen with any airline. There has been no incident or a safety scare on this flight,” SpiceJet said.

DGCA warning

SpiceJet has been under pressure, reporting the ninth technical glitch since June 19. Last week, Indian aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued a show-cause notice to SpiceJet asking it to explain why action should not be taken against it for the series of other incidents.

According to DGCA, the airline has failed to establish safe, efficient, and reliable air services as per Aircraft Rules, 1937, Mint reported. Additionally, the aviation regulator has also imposed Rs 10 lakh fine on SpiceJet for using a faulty simulator to train its 737 Max aircraft pilots.

Timeline of events

July 5: Three SpiceJet flights -- one from Delhi to Dubai, one from Kandla, Gujarat, to Mumbai, and a third on a freighter trip from Kolkata to Chongqing in China -- experienced technical difficulties. The Chongqing flight returned to Kolkata after a weather radar malfunction. The Dubai flight had to make an emergency landing in Karachi, Pakistan, after a fuel indicator fault. The Kandla-Mumbai flight experienced a windshield crack.

July 2: A Delhi-Jabalpur SpiceJet flight returned to Delhi after the crew members detected smoke in the cabin at around 5,000 feet altitude.

June 24: A SpiceJet Q400 aircraft (Guwahati-Kolkata) flight experienced a fuselage warning light during ‘rotation’. The flight was forced to abandon the journey and return. According to pilots, the warning came from the baggage door at the rear end of the plane.

June 25: Another fuselage warning incident was reported on a SpiceJet Patna-Guwahati flight during take-off. The SpiceJet Q400 aircraft was forced to abandon its take-off roll at the Patna airport. Reports said the warning came from the baggage door at the rear end of the plane.

June 19: The engine on a Patna-Delhi flight caught fire, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing, minutes after taking-off from Patna. The same day, another SpiceJet flight heading towards Jabalpur faced cabin pressurisation issues.

May 28: The windshield of a Mumbai-Gorakhpur flight cracked.

May 4: A Chennai-Durgapur flight was forced to turn back after an oil filter warning.

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(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)

First Published:Jul 12, 2022 3:37 PM IST