Air Asia Flight Grounded in Pune, DGCA Takes Action After Tyre Found Cracked

The Air Asia India flight was grounded because of pieces of tire treads found on the runway of Bengaluru Airport, where the plane was taxiing earlier, reports ANI.

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The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) "grounded" an Air Asia plane at a runway in Pune on Sunday after discovering one of the aircraft's tyres to be "cracked," according to officials. The aviation regulator reported that after portions of the tyre tread were discovered on the Bengaluru runway, from where it was taxied, a flight headed for Pune was examined on the mentioned runway.

Upon inspection at Pune, the sidewall of the number 3 tyre was found cracked, DGCA said, adding that the flight has been stopped from further take-offs. Further information is awaited. 

Earlier, Air Asia India ran into trouble with the aviation watchdog for lapses found in pilot training. The Tata Group-owned low-cost carrier AirAsia India was fined Rs 20 lakh by the aviation safety watchdog DGCA on Saturday for violating some pilot training regulations. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) also ordered the dismissal of the airline's head of training from his position for a period of three months, in addition to fining eight Designated Examiners (DEs) Rs. 3 lakh each.

On January 23, PTI reported that AirAsia India may be subject to enforcement action from the safety authorities due to allegations that it violated aviation standards regarding pilot competency checks and instrument rating exams.

In more than a month, this was the third enforcement action taken against a Tata Group carrier. In a statement, AirAsia India stated that it is evaluating the DGCA judgement and considering an appeal.

Following a surveillance examination of the airline by the DGCA between November 23 and 25, 2013, and a subsequent show-cause notice to the airline, its head of training, and all DEs, enforcement action was taken.

A spokeswoman for AirAsia claimed that the airline has already required pilots to participate in exercises as part of simulator training that went above and beyond the minimum regulatory training requirements.

(With ANI Inputs)