Two SpiceJet pilots face DGCA action; flying licences suspended for one year

Cracking the whip against violations, aviation watchdog DGCA on Wednesday suspended licences of two more SpiceJet pilots after their aircraft overshot the runway at Surat airport, a senior official said.

A Q400 aircraft from Bhopal overshot the runway after landing at Surat airport on June 30.

This is the second time in as many days that the regulator has taken action against pilots of SpiceJet.

A senior official told PTI that the flying licences of the two pilots -- Rohan Sreemoola Nathan and Kanwal Jit Singh Dihot -- have been suspended for one year.

The probe by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) found that the crew continued unstabilised approach with high speed that resulted in runway excursion, the official said.

Further, the official said the aircraft had touched down late with approximately 600 metres of runway left.

The suspension is effective from the June 30, the day of the incident, the official added.

There was no immediate comment from SpiceJet.

On Monday, the regulator suspended flying licences of two SpiceJet pilots for unstabilised landing approach that led to their aircraft overshooting the runway after landing at Mumbai airport on July 1.

The incident, involving a Boeing 737 plane coming from Jaipur, had also led to closure of Mumbai airport's main runway for more than three days before the aircraft was removed.