DGCA suspends licences of SpiceJet pilots for violation

Aviation regulator DGCA on Tuesday suspended flying licences of two SpiceJet pilots for six months after an aircraft operated by them damaged runway edge lights during landing at Kolkata airport, a senior official said.

The incident happened on July 2 when the plane was operating Pune-Kolkata flight.

In recent weeks, the watchdog has been taking strict action against individuals and entities for various violations.

The official told PTI that flying licenses of the two pilots of SpiceJet - Aarati Gunasekaran and Saurabh Gulia - have been suspended for six months.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) decision came after replies provided by them to the show cause notice were not satisfactory.

An investigation into the incident found that the aircraft touched down approximately 1,300 feet from runway threshold point, the official said.

This resulted in the plane "further veering to the right of the runway centerline and damaging runway edge lights," the official added.

The six-month suspension of flying licences is effective from July 2, the date when the incident took place.

A response from SpiceJet was awaited.