SpiceJet flight to Madurai delayed as nose wheel malfunctions, 9th incident in 24 days

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, July 12, 2022: A SpiceJet flight from Dubai to Madurai was delayed after the Boeing B737 Max aircraft’s nose wheel malfunctioned on Monday. This is the ninth incident of technical malfunction on a SpiceJet aircraft in 24 days.

 

The Boeing B737 Max aircraft with registration number VT-SZK operated the Mangaluru-Dubai flight on Monday. After the aircraft landed, an engineer did a walk around inspection and found the nose wheel strut was compressed more than usual, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) officials told PTI.

The engineer then decided to ground the aircraft and SpiceJet sent another aircraft from Mumbai to Dubai to operate the return Dubai-Madurai flight, officials said.

The airline later issued a clarification stating the flight was delayed due to a "last minute technical issue".

"On July 11, 2022, SpiceJet flight SG23 operating from Dubai to Madurai was delayed due to a last minute technical issue. Alternate aircraft was arranged immediately which brought passengers back to India. Flight delays can happen with any airline. There has been no incident or a safety scare on this flight," a SpiceJet spokesperson told PTI.

The DGCA had issued a show-cause notice to SpiceJet following repeated incidents of technical malfunctions in its aircraft since June 19.

"The review [of incidents] transpires that poor internal safety oversight and inadequate maintenance actions [as most of the incidents are related to either component failure or system related failure] have resulted in degradation of the safety margins," the aviation regulator said in a statement.

On July 2, a SpiceJet flight heading to Jabalpur returned to Delhi after the crew members observed smoke in the cabin at around 5,000 feet altitude. This was one among the nine incidents reported in 24 days.

Courtesy: India Today