SpiceJet Hit With 9th Malfunction In 24 Days: Boeing B737 MAX’s Nose Wheel Malfunctioned On This Route

A Dubai-Madurai SpiceJet flight was delayed on Monday as there was a malfunction with the Boeing B737 MAX’s nose wheel.

This malfunction happened at the last minute, as per the DGCI.

DGCI Confirms Ninth Incident Of Malfunction With SpiceJet Plane

The  Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has stated that ‘alternate aircraft were arranged which brought passengers back to India.’ the issue was resolved later and the 737 MAX aircraft flew back.

The aircraft with the registration VT-SZK traveled from Mangaluru to Dubai, according to the DGCA. An engineer performed a walk-around examination after landing and discovered the nose wheel strut was compressed more than usual.

The delay resulted from the engineer’s decision to ground the aircraft.

As per a spokesperson of Spicejet, “Flight delays can happen with any airline. There has been no incident or a safety scare on this flight.”

Shockingly, this is the ninth confirmed incident that involved a SpiceJet plane in the last 24 days only. 

On Wednesday, 6 July, a show cause notice has been issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to SpiceJet in connection with the degradation of safety margins of its aircraft.

SpiceJet Encountered 8 Safety Malfunctions In 18 Days

As per DGCA, the company has failed to comply with the Aircraft Rules,1937 as it failed to establish safe, efficient, and reliable air services. 

As per the DGCA’s September 2021 audit, the component suppliers were not being paid on a regular basis, leading to shortage of spare parts.

Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia took to Twitter, after sharing the notice issued by DGCA, that passenger safety is paramount.

On multiple occasions, DGCA said that the aircraft would either return back to its originating station or continued landing to the destination with degraded safety margins.

DGCA, after the developments, issued a show-cause notice asking why “action should not be taken against the company.”

SpiceJet in a statement said that while the company is committed to ensuring a safe operation for its passengers and crew, it will respond to the notice within the specified time period. Ajay Singh, Chairman and Managing Director of SpiceJet said that it is not due to the shortage of spare parts that these malfunctions happened.