Two SpiceJet pilots suspended for three months for runway incursion

New Delhi: Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Thursday suspended two pilots of SpiceJet for three months in connection with the runway incursion case at Delhi airport in August. Captain Bhushan Nanda was commanding SpiceJet`s Delhi-Mumbai flight on August 27 whereas Trishala Chandola was acting as the first officer when the aircraft breached Holding Point RWY 10 which led to the runway incursion.

Both the pilots were issued show-cause notices last month. The regulatory body in its order said that the action by the pilots "jeopardised the safety of the aircraft and the passengers". The investigation by DGCA revealed that the tower controlled gave taxi instruction to the flight to `hold at holding point RWY10` and crew of Spice Jets had confirmed that aircraft is holding at the point.

However, the aircraft crossed the holding point RWY 10 which led to a runway incursion. On September 9, the DGCA had issued a show-cause notice to the pilots to explain within 15 days as to why action should not be taken against them for "endangering the safety of aircraft and passengers onboard".

In the reply, both officers have "accepted their lapses", the order noted. "This is in violation of DGCA Advisory Circular 7/2009 which inter-alia states that Flight crews should use a "continuous loop" process for actively monitoring and updating their progress and location during taxi. This includes knowing the aircraft`s present location and mentally calculating the next location on the route that will require increased attention," the order read.