Aviation regulator asks SpiceJet, Jet Airways to check Boeing 737 MAX planes after Lion Air crash
The two carriers operate at least six aircraft of that model.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has asked Jet Airways and SpiceJet to monitor and fix potential problems with Boeing 737 MAX planes that could lead to a “significant altitude loss” of the aircraft, PTI reported on Thursday, quoting an unidentified official.
The development follows advisories sent by the United States-based aircraft manufacturer and the US Federal Aviation Administration about the airworthiness of the planes after an aircraft of that make crashed into the Java Sea on October 29.
SpiceJet and Jet Airways have a total of at least six such planes in operation.
The DGCA official told PTI: “Both the documents [advisories from the US aviation regulator and Boeing] address erroneous high ‘angle of attack’ sensor input and corrective action for the same as it has potential for repeated nose-down trim commands of horizontal stabiliser.”
A day after the plane crash in Indonesia, Union Minister of Civil Aviation Suresh Prabhu had said the Directorate General of Civil Aviation had been ordered to check the aircraft engines and look into other matters related to Boeing 737 Max. The DGCA had said there were no problems with the aircraft of the same make in India but that it was in touch with Boeing and the Federal Aviation Authority to know more details about the crash, PTI reported.
Authorities in Indonesia have said they will inspect all Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft in the country’s airline fleets after the Lion Air crash, CNN reported.