The Directorate-General of Civil Aviation has asked SpiceJet and Jet Airways to follow certain protocol for a faulty sensor that may cause a plane to lose altitude, a problem suspected to have brought down Indonesian carrier Lion Air’s Boeing 737 Max 8 jet off Jakarta, killing all 189 people on board.
Earlier this week, Boeing advised airlines on how to handle circumstances stemming from incorrect data from ‘angle of attack’ sensors. Then the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the U.S. issued an airworthiness directive and asked all airlines to follow Boeing’s directive. “Within three days of receipt of the FAA’s airworthiness directive, changes to the Airplane Flight Manual have to be done for procedures which have to be followed by flight crew,” the DGCA said in a statement.
“This condition, if not addressed, could cause the crew to have difficulty controlling the airplane and lead to excessive nose-down attitude, significant altitude loss and a possible impact with terrain,” the regulator said.
“Jet Airways’ Max aircraft continue to fly in compliance with the airworthiness directive issued by the manufacturer and the regulatory authorities,” an airline spokesperson said.
Boeing said earlier that investigators probing the Lion Air crash had observed that the Boeing 737 Max 8 plane witnessed an incorrect reading from one of the ‘angle of attack’ sensors. According to media reports, the sensor on the Lion Air plane had been replaced the day before the crash after it failed on a previous flight.
Jet Airways and SpiceJet have ordered 225 and 205 Boeing 737 Max jets. Jet Airways has inducted five of them and the SpiceJet has taken delivery of one. After the Jakarta crash, the DGCA said these planes had not encountered any significant technical issue thus far.
