SpiceJet Pilots Punished For Landing Before Touchdown Zone

New Delhi: Two SpiceJet pilots have been penalized by Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for landing before the touchdown zone at Seychelles airport.

A SpiceJet flight from Chennai to Seychelles landed in the wrong zone on Tuesday. The B737-800 aircraft touched down safely and there was no damage to the airport or the plane, reported Hindustan Times. But the country’s civil aviation regulator did not take the incident lightly as it could have led to a mishap.

“Both pilots were off-rostered after the preliminary findings. The flight data recorder was reviewed and some manual error was found, after which the pilots were de-rostered,” a DGCA official said.

SpiceJet is yet to comment on the incident.

“It is a serious incident because the touchdown zone is at least 1300 ft from the threshold and if the aircraft landed short of the runway, then it highlights poor judgment of the pilots and had they used vertical situation display instrument, they would have known well in time that they were landing short. The repercussions could have been serious like the aircraft could have been veered off the runway or there could have been structural damage too,” said aviation safety expert Mohan Ranganathan.