DGCA chief S. N. A. Zaidi had to cancel his trip to Bangalore today after a fire-alarm went off in a SpiceJet aircraft, leading it to be declared unserviceable for the flight.
The fire alarm went off during the pre-flight check by the pilot, after all the 150 passengers, including Zaidi, had boarded the Boeing 737-800 of SpiceJet’s SG-501 Delhi - Bangalore flight, airport sources said.
While the aircraft was checked at night and declared fit to fly, the alarm buzzed when the pilot was conducting pre-flights check before the scheduled departure at 6.40 am.
“During the checks, cargo fire alarm module (unit) failed and it went off. As a matter of caution the plane was declared unserviceable and passengers were shifted to another aircraft,” an airline spokesperson said.
Mr. Zaidi, who was to attend a conference of the Aeronautical Society of India in Bangalore, was not available for comments. Sources said he cancelled his journey.
The defective module was later replaced and the aircraft is now serviceable, the spokesperson added.
