90 SpiceJet pilots barred from MAXs, Boeing response puts airline in the dock

Boeing says MAX simulator training can’t continue if stick shaker is faulty

NEW DELHI: Pilot training can't be conducted for the safe return of Boeing 737 MAXs to the skies if the stick shaker in a simulator is faulty, the plane manufacturer has informed the DGCA, which suspended 90 SpiceJet pilots following an inspection of a training facility.

Boeing has also said that it will be grounding the simulator until the stick shaker is replaced.

The training was being conducted at a third-party simulator centre, CAE Simulation Training Centre in Greater Noida. It is jointly owned by IndiGo promoter Rahul Bhatia and Canadian manufacturer of simulation technologies CAE. However, the training was being imparted by instructors from SpiceJet. The DGCA discovered the lapses on an inspection of the centre on March 30.

According to DGCA sources, when SpiceJet was confronted with Boeing's response on the matter, the airline replied that they have taken "in house measure" to continue such training though Boeing was not consulted by it.

SpiceJet was conducting the training as part of MAXs return to service after the aircraft type was grounded globally for over two years following two crashes that killed more than 300 people. The training is to familiarise pilots with the modifications carried out by Boeing. The Indian regulator lifted the ban on 737 MAXs in August 2021. SpiceJet has 13 MAXs, out of which 11 are in operation.

According to DGCA's rules or Civil Aviation Requirements," No person may knowingly use or allow the use of or misrepresent the capability of a Flight Simulation Training Devise for any maneuver, procedure, or task that is to be accomplished to meet training...when there is a missing, malfunctioning, or inoperative component."

Senior pilots in-charge of training say that in case of a malfunctioning device, the simulator training center and the airline are supposed to maintain a "defect log" and the DGCA inquiry will reveal if there was a failure to record the fault with the stick shaker and if CAE also needs to be punished.