Delhi-bound SpiceJet flight takes off the runway without ATC clearance, DGCA orders probe

An aircraft has to take multiple permissions from ATC before taking off from an airport, including push back from the aircraft stand, starting the engines, stand in the line up, and a final take off permission.

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In a one-off aviation incident, a SpiceJet passenger flight took off from Gujarat's Rajkot without the mandatory clearance from the Air Traffic Controller (ATC), following which aviation regulator DGCA has ordered a probe into the incident. The pilots of Rajkot-Delhi flight have been off-rostered pending an inquiry by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), a SpiceJet spokesperson said.

An aircraft has to take multiple permissions from ATC before taking off from an airport. It needs to take permission to push back from the aircraft stand. Then, it has to take permission before starting the engines. Then, it has to take permission to stand in the line up, and then a final permission is given for take off.

The pilots did not take requisite clearance from the ATC before taking off from the Rajkot airport on December 30, the officials noted. The DGCA is probing the December 30 incident to find out the reasons for this incident, they said. While such incidents are rare in the modern day aviation, pilots privy to the incidence mentioned that such cases happen once in a while due to lack in understanding the communication from the ATC. 

On the other hand, SpiceTech, a subsidiary of SpiceJet, has developed a digital library of documents used by pilots in the cockpit. The library has been named 'Pilot Docs' and it eliminates the need to carry a large amount of paper manuals on the aircraft. Pilot Docs contributes to the airline's overall sustainability initiative, enhance safety through easy and immediate access to relevant information in any situation, eliminate compliance errors and augment operational efficiency.

Pilot Docs has been approved by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for use on SpiceJet's Boeing 737 aircraft fleet. The library is already being used on the B737 aircraft fleet on a trial basis along with a similar product from a foreign provider. "With DGCA approval, the airline will fully transition to Pilot Docs resulting in substantial savings for SpiceJet," stated a release. 

With inputs from wires