India bans 90 pilots from flying Boeing 737 Max

Planes Boeing 737 Max was allowed to fly again by India in August last year after having to stop taking off on a global scale.

A routine check of the simulator has revealed a number of problems and an investigation is underway to find the cause, Arun Kumar, director general of the Civil Aviation Authority of India, told Bloomberg. News.

Indian regulators discovered a malfunction in the plane’s controls and vibration lever, sources familiar with the matter said.

Boeing owns the simulator and supplies it to SpiceJet Ltd and new airline Akasa Air to train pilots, the source added.

Boeing installed the simulator in Noida, near New Delhi, in response to India’s request for a 737 Max license to be allowed back into the skies.

The Boeing 737 Max model, a best-selling product of Boeing, has been discontinued since March 2019 after the accident plane crash in Indonesia and Ethiopia killing everyone on board. The aircraft is now back in service in most markets, except China.

“We have banned these pilots from flying the Max and they have to successfully retrain. We will take strict action against those responsible for the incident,” said Mr. Kumar.

SpiceJet, the only airline in India that currently operates the 737 Max, said 90 of its pilots had been grounded until they were retrained.

SpiceJet operates 11 planes and already has enough pilots to fly them, an airline representative said. Meanwhile, Akasa plans to start commercial service from June and is awaiting approval.