New Delhi: Two SpiceJet The pilots have been de-rostered after the Hyderabad-Belgaum flight landed at the wrong end of the runway at the destination on Sunday. Aviation authorities took a tough stand as the crew reportedly did not report it and operated the DASH8 Q400 back to Hyderabad.
it was only when AIRPORTS AUTHORITY OF INDIA (AAI) reported this “serious incident” that SpiceJet reported to the Aircraft Accident Investigation Board (AAIB), investigators say. However, by then the critical cockpit voice recorder recording (CVR) had disappeared at the time of the incident, as the CVR record was in a loop, taking into account the last two hours of conversation in the flight deck.
Incident in serious category, AAIB will investigate
Air Traffic Control has cleared operation of SpiceJet DASH8 Q400 aircraft (VT-SQC) SG-3733 for landing on Runway 26 unbridled. However, the pilot landed on runway 08 (meaning, it touched down on the other end of the runway instead of the designated end),” said a senior official.
The plane landed on the runway at 11.30 am without being informed. “Although it was quite serious, the pilots made an even bigger mistake by not reporting it. They went back to Hyderabad and went home. It was only after AAI informed about this that SpiceJet informed the AAIB at 3.37 pm (four hours after the wrong landing),” said senior investigators.
The journey time of Belgaum – Hyderabad is 1 hour 40 mins. Conducting a return flight meant that the CVR recording was “washed out because the tape could only record for two hours” at the time of the wrong landing.
The incident has been classified as serious and the AAIB will investigate it. “The chief pilot of SpiceJet spoke to AAIB officials and later asked the crew of this flight to appear for investigation on Monday,” a source said. A SpiceJet spokesperson said: “On Sunday (24 October), SpiceJet DASH8 Q400 aircraft operated from Hyderabad to Belgaum. According to the information received, ATC had cleared the aircraft to land on runway 26 of Belgaum. However, the aircraft landed on runway 08. The plane landed safely. Both the pilots have been stopped and investigation has been started.”
There have been instances in the past when crew have waited to report a problem on a flight after some time to erase the CVR recording and ensure a fresh recording. For example, a few years ago there was a fight on board between the crew and pilots of an international flight of an Indian carrier (not Spice-Jet). The crew reporting the matter waited for hours to ensure that the plane had taken off for a few hours and that fresh CVR recordings were recorded.
it was only when AIRPORTS AUTHORITY OF INDIA (AAI) reported this “serious incident” that SpiceJet reported to the Aircraft Accident Investigation Board (AAIB), investigators say. However, by then the critical cockpit voice recorder recording (CVR) had disappeared at the time of the incident, as the CVR record was in a loop, taking into account the last two hours of conversation in the flight deck.
Incident in serious category, AAIB will investigate
Air Traffic Control has cleared operation of SpiceJet DASH8 Q400 aircraft (VT-SQC) SG-3733 for landing on Runway 26 unbridled. However, the pilot landed on runway 08 (meaning, it touched down on the other end of the runway instead of the designated end),” said a senior official.
The plane landed on the runway at 11.30 am without being informed. “Although it was quite serious, the pilots made an even bigger mistake by not reporting it. They went back to Hyderabad and went home. It was only after AAI informed about this that SpiceJet informed the AAIB at 3.37 pm (four hours after the wrong landing),” said senior investigators.
The journey time of Belgaum – Hyderabad is 1 hour 40 mins. Conducting a return flight meant that the CVR recording was “washed out because the tape could only record for two hours” at the time of the wrong landing.
The incident has been classified as serious and the AAIB will investigate it. “The chief pilot of SpiceJet spoke to AAIB officials and later asked the crew of this flight to appear for investigation on Monday,” a source said. A SpiceJet spokesperson said: “On Sunday (24 October), SpiceJet DASH8 Q400 aircraft operated from Hyderabad to Belgaum. According to the information received, ATC had cleared the aircraft to land on runway 26 of Belgaum. However, the aircraft landed on runway 08. The plane landed safely. Both the pilots have been stopped and investigation has been started.”
There have been instances in the past when crew have waited to report a problem on a flight after some time to erase the CVR recording and ensure a fresh recording. For example, a few years ago there was a fight on board between the crew and pilots of an international flight of an Indian carrier (not Spice-Jet). The crew reporting the matter waited for hours to ensure that the plane had taken off for a few hours and that fresh CVR recordings were recorded.
.