Airline not adhering to 'basic maintenance practices', caused death of SpiceJet technician, DGCA probe reveals

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Lack of proper training, unsupervised maintenance and the airline not adhering to "basic maintenance practices" led to a young SpiceJet technician losing his life while servicing an aircraft at Kolkata airport in the early hours of July 9, a probe by the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has revealed.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has completed its probe into the accident that claimed the life of 22-year-old technician Rohit Pandey when he got stuck in the Bombardier Q400's main landing gear door.

The Aviation regulator had constituted a committee to investigate the incident. The report of the committee has pointed out that the Trainee (Engineer) was not trained and was carrying out work on the aircraft without any supervision by a trained/ licensed engineer, an official statement said.

"The Committee in its report has also given contributory factors to the fatal incident, which include lack of training, unsupervised maintenance by unlicensed/ unauthorized personnel and non-adherence to basic maintenances practices. Action to address the shortcomings, including action against those responsible for the said incident will be taken by DGCA," the statement added.

On July 7, the flight SG-3218 on Kolkata-Silchar sector had taxied out from apron at 3: 35 PM IST and returned to bay no. 32 at 3: 55 PM IST due to snag in Yaw Damper unit.

The aircraft was parked for trouble shooting and rectification. The rectification could not be completed by licensed engineers (AMEs) during the day shift and the task was carried forward for rectification by the engineers during the night shift.

During this time, the AME while attending to another snag on the same aircraft ("Intermittent Take-off warning"), pressurized the aircraft hydraulic systems to check the movement of flaps and spoilers. On pressurization of the Hydraulic System, the right hand (RH) landing gear door closed resulting in the trapping of the Trainee (Engineer) who was carrying out layover inspection inside the right hand (RH) main wheel aft door.

The Trainee (Engineer) was taken out by cutting the doors and was declared dead by the attending doctor.