Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has ordered SpiceJet to take additional measures to maintain its regional aircraft fleet of 14 Bombardier Q-400 aircraft following a recent incident that led to smoke inside passenger cabin during a flight from Goa to Hyderabad.
The order follows a preliminary inquiry into the incident on October 12, during which there was smoke in cabin while the aircraft was descending over Hyderabad leading to the pilots requesting emergency landing. The inquiry found that engine oil had entered the aircraft air conditioning system.
The airline has now been instructed not to send any of its Pratt and Whitney engines on Q-400s for maintenance, repair and overhaul to an entity in Singapore called Standard Aero pending an inquiry as the latest incident and another similar occurrence involved engines that were sent there.
The regulator has also asked the airline to send engine oil samples every 15 days to Pratt and Whitney Canada instead of once a month, conduct weekly boroscopic inspections every week as well as to commence inspection of “bleed-off” valve. It has also sought immediate inspection of “magnetic chip detectors” for presence of any metal particles.
The DGCA in July-end had barred SpiceJet from not operating more than 50% of its approved flights following a series of safety-related incidents for a period of eight weeks. This restriction was extended by another month in September, and will be in force till October 29.
