DGCA fines SpiceJet Rs 10 lakh for training pilots on faulty simulator

This is the third time that the regulator has imposed a financial penalty on operators for violation of rules after being empowered to do so

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Monday imposed a Rs 10-lakh fine on SpiceJet for training 737 Max aircraft’s pilots on a faulty simulator.

Earlier, the DGCA had barred 90 SpiceJet pilots from flying B737 Max aircraft. The pilots will have to be retrained, the regulator had ordered.

“Training being imparted by SpiceJet could have adversely affected flight safety and was nullified,” the regulator said.

This happened within eight months of the DGCA lifting a ban on Boeing 737 Max aircraft. While it was grounded worldwide from March 2019 to December 2020 following two crashes — in Indonesia