Runway incursion at Chennai airport: DGCA suspends 2 IndiGo pilots for 3 months

Aviation regulator DGCA has suspended two pilots of IndiGo airline for not heeding the instructions of Air Traffic Controller which caused a runway incursion incident at Chennai airport on July 14, an official said on Saturday.

"Capt. Elitom Tadeu Soos, pilot-in-command, and Capt. Aniket Sunil Joshi, first officer - who were planning to take off their A320 plane for Ahmedabad airport - did not adhere to the instructions by SMC (Surface Movement Control) Controller to hold at holding point 'A' at RWY30 at Chennai airport," the official said.

"They did not pay heed to the holding instructions and moved toward RWY25, which resulted in runway incursion incident. This jeopardised the safety of the aircraft and the passengers," the official added.

Moreover, after SMC Controller changed the frequency to "Tower Frequency", the pilots failed to contact at this frequency, the official said.

The pilots were issued show cause notices by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on October 25 and were asked to send their replies within 15 days.

In their replies, both the pilots accepted their lapse that they crossed the holding point, the official said.

Therefore, the DGCA on Friday suspended the licences of both the pilots for a period of three months, the official added.

This period of three months would be calculated from November 15.