DGCA issues show-cause notice to Akasa Air over plane maintenance lapses

Issues show-cause notice to airline after noticing poor maintenance standards during a spot check at Bengaluru airport

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued a show-cause notice to Akasa Air after finding "poor maintenance standards" and "lapses" during a spot check conducted at Bengaluru airport in August this year, officials told Business Standard.

 

The regulator found that on one of the airline's B737 Max planes, the tyre pressure indicator system (TPIS) was not properly installed on the right-hand nose wheel by the aircraft maintenance engineer. 

 

He failed to perform the "positive locking" of the TPIS sensor on the right-hand nose wheel but still certified the aircraft as fit to fly, allowing it to return to service, according to officials.

 

According to the DGCA, these lapses "had occured due to poor maintenance standards and certification" by the engineer. The DGCA stated that this lapse violated Section 61 of the Aircraft Rules, 1937. 

 

According to these rules, if a licensed engineer issues a certificate permitting an aircraft to return to service without ensuring the specified maintenance has been completed, he or she may face a warning, admonition, suspension, or permanent revocation of their licence. Akasa Air did not respond to Business Standard's request seeking a statement on this matter.

 

The show-cause notice was issued to the airline's engineer on December 9 and he has been given 15 days to respond, according to officials. The regulator will issue its final order after receiving his reply.

 

The issue arising from the spot check is the second run-in the airline has had with the regulator recently. On December 10, the DGCA instructed Akasa Air to immediately comply with its mandate to deploy only CAT-III-trained pilots at all six major fog-affected airports, even as it reviews the airline's requests for certain exemptions.

 

Akasa Air had on November 29 requested the aviation regulator to exempt it from deploying CAT-III-trained pilots on flights to and from two major fog-affected airports, Kolkata and Bengaluru, for specific periods, as there is a shortage of such pilots on its roster, sources stated. The airline had informed the DGCA that without this exemption, its entire flight operations could face a "cascading" impact.

 

Pilots trained on CAT-III instrument landing systems can land in low-visibility conditions at airports equipped with these systems. The three subcategories — CAT-III A, B, and C — permit landings with minimum runway visibility of 175m, 50m, and zero visibility, respectively. 

 

Akasa Air, which started operating commercial flights in August 2022, has 26 planes in its fleet. According to aviation analytics firm Cirium, the airline is operating about 956 flights per week this month, about 21 per cent higher year-on-year.