SpiceJet Durgapur flight incident: DGCA suspends licence of pilot for 6 months

New Delhi, August 20

Aviation regulator DGCA has suspended the licence of a SpiceJet pilot for six months following an incident where the airline’s flight from Mumbai to Durgapur had faced severe turbulence and resulted in injuries to many passengers in May.

In the incident that happened on May 1, 14 passengers and three cabin crew members were injured.

A senior DGCA official on Saturday said the licence of the pilot-in-command of the flight has been suspended for six months due to various violations.

Among others, the pilot could have dealt with the bad weather situation in a better manner, the official said.

There were no comments on the issue from SpiceJet.

Since it was a serious incident, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) was probing the matter.

As many as 195 people, including two pilots and four cabin crew members were on board the flight.

Earlier, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had said 14 passengers and three cabin crew members suffered injuries related to head, spine, shoulder, forehead and face.

In recent months, various SpiceJet flights have faced issues, including technical problems.

On July 27, the DGCA ordered the airline to operate a maximum of 50 per cent of its flights for eight weeks in the wake of multiple incidents.