DGCA sends notice to SpiceJet after its aircraft skids off runway

New Delhi: Directorate General of Civil Aviation on Thursday issued show cause notice to Spice Jet after its aircraft skid off the runway.

A Spice Jet aircraft from Pune veered off from the runway at the Kolkata Airport, because of wet tarmac and heavy rainfall on June 2. Passengers were deplaned after the incident and taken to a safer area. The aviation regulator served the show cause notice asking why no action should be taken against them.

"We are in receipt of the show cause notices issued by the DGCA. Safety is the core value of our operations and is a shared objective of both the DGCA and Spice Jet. We will take all possible steps that may be required to further strengthen our safety mechanism," a Spice Jet spokesperson said.

On June 3, Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said such incidents happen sometimes due to excessive rains."Everything is under control and there is no cause of concern," he said. Five such serious incidents have been reported in various airports in the last three days.

Among the incidents were Air India Express and Spice Jet aircraft overshooting the runway in Mangaluru and Surat airports, respectively on June 30.

Other incidents include a tail tip incident of an aircraft of Air India Express at Kozhikode airport, a SpiceJet aircraft overshooting the runway in Mumbai and a SpiceJet aircraft`s hard landing in Kolkata airport on July 1.