The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will inspect the entire SpiceJet fleet of 91 planes after mid-air turbulence on Sunday left several passengers of a Mumbai-Durgapur flight injured, with two continuing to be in ICU.
The SpiceJet flight encountered severe turbulence during descent as it was preparing to land around 5 p.m. on Sunday. Fourteen passengers and three cabin crew were injured in the incident. The injuries were related to head, spine, shoulder and face, the aviation regulator said.
“As a precautionary measure, we have decided to examine the maintenance standards of SpiceJet’s entire fleet. The airline has often been found wanting in this aspect. If needed, we may ground a few planes and ask the airline to address shortcomings before they are allowed to fly again,” a senior DGCA official said.
The DGCA has also off-rostered the pilot, the co-pilot as well as the aircraft maintenance engineer who released the aircraft.
The aircraft involved was a Boeing 737-800. The airline operates a fleet of 69 Boeing 737s and 22 Q-400s.
The regulator has categorised the event as an “accident” due to the nature of the injuries to passengers. This means that the investigation will now be handled by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau.
Three passengers continued to be hospitalised on Monday, out of whom two were in the ICU.
According to the United Nation’s International Civil Aviation Organization, there are three categories of occurrences — incidents, accidents and serious accidents. An accident is one where a person is fatally or seriously injured or where the aircraft sustains damage or it goes missing.
Earlier in the day, Minister for Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia called the incident unfortunate and said the matter was being dealt with “utmost seriousness & deftness”.
