After IndiGo, SpiceJet; DGCA now slaps Rs 10 lakh fine on Vistara for improper pilot training

After IndiGo and SpiceJet, aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) imposes Rs 10 lakh fine on Vistara. Officials said the airline let an improperly trained pilot land flight with passengers on board at Indore airport. The pilot, who was the first officer on the flight, landed the aircraft at the Indore airport recently without first getting the requisite training in a simulator, they said. "This was a serious violation endangering lives of the passengers on board," an officials noted. A first officer has to be first trained to land an aircraft in a simulator before he or she can land a plane with passengers on board. A captain is also trained at a simulator before he or she can allow the first officer to land the aircraft.

The captain as well as the first officer of the Indore flight did not train in a simulator but the first officer was still allowed to conduct the landing at the airport, officials said. A fine of Rs 10 lakh has therefore been levied on Vistara for granting landing clearance to the first officer without conducting requisite training, they added. It is not immediately clear where the aircraft took off from and when exactly this happened.

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Earlier, the DGCA imposed a Rs 10 lakh fine on SpiceJet airlines for training its Boeing 737 Max aircraft's pilots on a faulty simulator. Sources said this move could have adversely impacted flight safety. After barring the pilots, the regulator issued a show-cause notice to the airline in April. Further, IndiGo airline was fined Rs 5 lakh for denying a specially-abled child boarding at Ranchi airport on May 7. The child was denied permission to board the Ranchi-Hyderabad trip by IndiGo on May 9. This was the first time the aviation watchdog imposed a financial fine on an airline.

(With inputs from PTI)

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