india

Updated: Jul 16, 2019 20:53 IST

India’s aviation watchdog on Tuesday ordered suspension of two SpiceJet pilots for violation of safety norms, a government official said. Officials said the two pilots were involved in an incident at Kolkata airport on 2 July when the plane had veered off the runway.

The airline had then attributed the incident to wet tarmac and heavy rainfall and credited the pilot for immediately taking corrective action. Four runway edge lights were also damaged.

The aviation regulator, however, didn’t agree when it rejected the explanations given by the two pilots.

Saurabh Gulia and Aarati Gunsekaran, have been penalised with a six-month suspension.

The DGCA, which conducted an inquiry, found that the pilots had touched down a little too late, about 1,300 feet from the runway threshold point.

Also, the B737 aircraft had touched down to the right of the centerline and continued to roll in this direction. This resulted in “the aircraft further veering to the right of the centreline and damaging runway edge lights”, the regulator’s order said.

Tuesday’s order comes just a day after the regulator suspended the pilot in command of an Air India flight on the Bengaluru-Kolkata route on June 17. The pilot had got into a public brawl with a cabin crew staffer who refused to wash his lunch box after the pilot finished his meal.

News agency ANI said the investigation revealed that the pilot in command Captain Milind and cabin crew Rajat Verman were involved in a heated argument and physical altercation when the aircraft was on the ground during pre-departure phase and preparation for departure was in progress.