DGCA to conduct safety audit for Jet Airways after a number of incidents

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will conduct a comprehensive safety audit of full-service carrier Jet Airways’ operations, after a series of aberrant incidents involving its aircraft in the past 10 months.

Since August last year, Jet aircraft have been involved in eight serious incidents — including pilots going incommunicado, ground collision as well as tailstrike, or the tail of an aircraft striking the runway. Four of these incidents occurred abroad.

These set alarm bells ringing, as the India aviation sector will undergo an audit by the United Nations’ aviation watchdog, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in November. In 2012, after a similar audit, the ICAO had placed the country on its list of 13 worst-performing nations, triggering an audit by the US’ aviation regulator, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which also downgraded India’s rank.

A DGCA official said Jet’s audit would begin this month. The regulator would examine the airline’s entire spectrum of operations, including engineering and training. Based on its findings, the DGCA would provide it with an action list to be complied with in a time-bound manner. 

In response to queries, Jet Airways said it undertook periodic audits to ensure airworthiness and technical fitness of its fleet. “Jet Airways flies nearly 85,000 guests on a little more 650 flights every day. It has an active safety-management system, which complies with all prescribed standards, and ensures that learning from industry events get ploughed back for continuous improvement. At Jet Airways, the safety of its guests, crew and assets is of paramount importance,” a company spokesperson said.

According to the DGCA rules, airlines have to report all serious incidents. The regulator asks the AAIB, which specialises in investigating accidents, to probe these.

“The incidents involving Jet Airways indicate failure on all fronts, be it operations, engineering, or training,” a top DGCA official said. “The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is investigating three of the incidents.”

The official added that in 2016, scheduled airlines had three accidents, all involving Jet Airways. In 2017, Jet suffered three tailstrikes. According to the DGCA, “accidents” are defined as occurrences that damage aircraft.

The DGCA regularly carries out surveillance of all airlines, checking licences and safety. A safety audit involves a thorough check of all departments of an airline.

“This is usually done when the regulator is convinced that the airline concerned is not meeting the Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR),” a safety head of another airline said.

In 2016, during a routine audit, the regulator found low-cost carrier GoAir not complying with some procedures in air safety administration. A probe was ordered. During its financial crisis, Vijay Mallya’s Kingfisher Airlines faced an audit after the airline cancelled a little more than 50 flights on a single day.

Sources said similar audits might happen at other airlines as the DGCA prepares for the ICAO audit. A below-par performance could potentially impact international expansion plans of Indian carriers.