While the Director-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is contemplating giving airline examiners the power to inspect their own aircraft, here is a case which would make it rethink its proposal.
Recently, a Jet Airways Singapore-Mumbai flight went off the runway after landing at Mumbai airport, but the matter was not reported to the DGCA. It was only when Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) workers, who went for maintenance work of the runway, saw the aircraft tyre marks going from the runway into the grass and back, that the matter was reported to the DGCA.
What happened:
On October 16, around 9.45 am, Jet Airways’ Singapore-Mumbai flight 9W11 landed on runway 27 of Mumbai airport. “After the Airbus A330 landed, the pilot tried to take a 180-degree turn and ventured into the unpaved area to the left of the runway,” said an airport official. As a result, two lights on the runway were broken.
What should have been done:
The Sri Lankan captain of the aircraft, also a chief flying instructor with the airline, did not report the matter to the DGCA. “Pilots are supposed to fill a pilot defect report in such incidents. But in this case, no report was made,” said a DGCA official. Even the engineer of the aircraft, after seeing mud on the tyres, did nothing. “He just cleaned it and okayed the aircraft, which went back to Singapore on its next flight at 11.30 pm,” said a source from Jet Airways. “When the engineers in Singapore examined the aircraft, they found scratch marks on one of the nose-wheels,” he said.
Who reported the matter:
On the next day, Friday October 17, when MIAL contract workers went on the runway for maintenance work, they noticed mud marks on the runway. “During our weekly maintenance work, carried out between 10.30 am and 4.30 pm, our workers noticed aircraft tyre marks going from the runway into the grass and back to the runway. We reported the matter to the DGCA, but we did not know which airline it was,” the official said.
DGCA conducted an investigation into the matter and the captain’s CFI licence was cancelled. “It was found from the on-board computer that the pilot had applied more pressure to the engine while taking a turn,” the Jet source said. When contacted, Jet Airways spokesperson Srirupa Sen said that due to the day being a holiday, she needed time till Wednesday.
