IndiGo Plane Tail Strike: DGCA Orders Probe After Multiple Incidents In 2023

Two IndiGo planes suffered tail strike while landing on April 14, while multiple incidents have been reported in 2023 alone.

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After three tail strike incidents to the aircraft operated by IndiGo in the last three months, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has ordered action and corrective measures against crew members and the airlines. A senior DGCA official informed that in the last three months, there have been three tail strikes to the aircraft operated by Indigo. "One tail strike occurred on Feb 2 and two occurred on April 14. Based on the outcome of the investigation, action has been taken into the matter," a senior DGCA official said.

The official added that the involved crew has been off-rostered and subjected to corrective training based on the findings of the investigation before release for flying duties. Further, supervised take-off and landing approval was withdrawn by the airline based on the fact of the case. The involved aircraft were released after maintenance actions as required by approved maintenance procedure, the official said.

"Communication has been sent to all pilots about tail strike awareness during take-off, landing and Go-Around. Training Department has communicated to all trainers for including discussion on awareness about the tail strike with trainees," the official said.

In the simulator training, manual flying is proposed to be increased for pilots in command and included for First Officers. The case study will be released to all pilots, the official said. However, according to the airline, there are only two incidents of tail strikes reported this year.

The first incident was reported in January at Kolkata airport and the other incident happened at Nagpur airport on April 14. Earlier on April 14, an Indigo flight 6E-203 from Mumbai flight suffered a tail strike during landing at Nagpur airport.

"On 14th April 2023, flight 6E 203, from Mumbai had a tail strike while landing at Nagpur. The aircraft was declared grounded at Nagpur airport for assessment and repairs. The incident is being investigated in detail," IndiGo said in a statement.

No injuries were reported in the incident, the airlines said. A tail strike occurs when the tail or empennage of an aircraft hits the ground or any other stationary object during take-off or landing.