90 pilots of Indian low-cost carrier SpiceJet will have to undergo retraining before they are able to continue flying the Boeing 737 MAX jet. The pilots have been barred from flying by the Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) after faults were discovered with the flight simulator’s flight controls at Boeing’s training facility, which was opened in 2020 at Noida, near Delhi.
It was during an inspection by the regulator that it was discovered the ‘stick shaker’ which is a mechanical device which warns pilots of an imminent stall by violently shaking the plane’s control yoke, was not functioning properly. “Boeing has said that they will replace the faulty equipment at the Noida facility but till then, no training can happen for the 737 MAX aircraft,” an official said.
However, as far as Spicejet is concerned the restrictions placed on the 90 pilots will not affect its operating of the 11 737 MAX jets it currently operates as the carrier has approximately 560 available pilots who are still qualified to fly the aircraft. SpiceJet requires around 144 pilots to successfully cover the flight schedule for its fleet of 11 MAX jets.
