DGCA issues show-cause notice to SpiceJet over dance on flights
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Cochin VOCI , India
Age: 35
Posts: 1,605
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
DGCA issues show-cause notice to SpiceJet over dance on flights
New Delhi: SpiceJet Ltd was on Wednesday issued a notice by the aviation regulator asking why its licence should not be suspended for violating safety rules during special Holi flights.
Mint first reported on Wednesday that Prabhat Kumar, the director general of civil aviation, had summoned SpiceJet officials to explain why the airline had allowed cabin crew onboard its flights to perform a dance routine as a part of its Holi celebrations.
“We have issued a show-cause notice to them (SpiceJet) today asking why their licence should not be suspended,” a senior official of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said, declining to be named.
“They conducted eight flights on which there was dance in the aisle area harming passenger safety. The flights were reduced to a mockery, the centre of gravity of the aircraft could have been impacted,” the official said. “Mobiles were used to capture the show in violation of our rules. The dance could have provoked passengers into unruly behaviour. The captain came out and was dancing outside the cockpit.”
SpiceJet, India’s second largest low-fare airline, has to reply to the notice within a fortnight, after which a decision will be taken on the airline’s licence, the official said.
SpiceJet said it had not received the notice but that it was “looking into the matter”.
The airline ran the special flights on 17 March and videos of the dances have gone viral on social media.
DGCA has suspended two SpiceJet pilots, including a captain, pending investigation.
SpiceJet has 57 planes and runs 350 daily flights.
Mohan Ranganathan, a Chennai-based safety expert and a member of the government-appointed Civil Aviation Safety Advisory Council, said the only error was that the pilot should have remained inside the cockpit. He did not agree with DGCA’s other charges.
“The only error was that the pilot came out into the cabin area, which goes against the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) security manual recommendations, but DGCA has not implemented it in its CAR (civil aviation requirements) and hence the pilot and the airline cannot be held accountable,” Ranganathan said.
The regulator seems “to be gunning for SpiceJet for a violation that really does not infringe on safety,” he said. “If they are talking of centre of gravity, someone seems to be giving DG (Directorate General) wrong advice because people keep moving around in the cabin on all flights.”
A DGCA circular on manning a plane’s cockpit says that “in case one of the crew members has to leave the cockpit during the non-critical phases of flight, the cabin crew is required to be inside the cockpit and occupy the observer seat. In no case the cabin crew will occupy the seats meant for cockpit crew...(but will remain vigilant) in case of subtle incapacitation of the flight deck crew.”
Airlines such as Finnair and AirAsia have conducted dance and birthday celebrations onboard their flights. Air Sahara and Damania Airways in the 1990s also used to hold shows onboard.
“I think if it was brief and light-hearted. It is difficult to say its violation of safety,” said G.R. Gopinath, a low-fare aviation pioneer. “If you look at Virgin Blue flights, they do a lot of fun things and even Southwest Airlines, mother of all LCCs (low-cost carriers), does lots of these things to break monotony. If it’s done in limits it is not a problem at all, as long as safety is not endangered.”
SpiceJet faces DGCA show-cause notice over dance on Holi flights - Livemint
Mint first reported on Wednesday that Prabhat Kumar, the director general of civil aviation, had summoned SpiceJet officials to explain why the airline had allowed cabin crew onboard its flights to perform a dance routine as a part of its Holi celebrations.
“We have issued a show-cause notice to them (SpiceJet) today asking why their licence should not be suspended,” a senior official of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said, declining to be named.
“They conducted eight flights on which there was dance in the aisle area harming passenger safety. The flights were reduced to a mockery, the centre of gravity of the aircraft could have been impacted,” the official said. “Mobiles were used to capture the show in violation of our rules. The dance could have provoked passengers into unruly behaviour. The captain came out and was dancing outside the cockpit.”
SpiceJet, India’s second largest low-fare airline, has to reply to the notice within a fortnight, after which a decision will be taken on the airline’s licence, the official said.
SpiceJet said it had not received the notice but that it was “looking into the matter”.
The airline ran the special flights on 17 March and videos of the dances have gone viral on social media.
DGCA has suspended two SpiceJet pilots, including a captain, pending investigation.
SpiceJet has 57 planes and runs 350 daily flights.
Mohan Ranganathan, a Chennai-based safety expert and a member of the government-appointed Civil Aviation Safety Advisory Council, said the only error was that the pilot should have remained inside the cockpit. He did not agree with DGCA’s other charges.
“The only error was that the pilot came out into the cabin area, which goes against the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) security manual recommendations, but DGCA has not implemented it in its CAR (civil aviation requirements) and hence the pilot and the airline cannot be held accountable,” Ranganathan said.
The regulator seems “to be gunning for SpiceJet for a violation that really does not infringe on safety,” he said. “If they are talking of centre of gravity, someone seems to be giving DG (Directorate General) wrong advice because people keep moving around in the cabin on all flights.”
A DGCA circular on manning a plane’s cockpit says that “in case one of the crew members has to leave the cockpit during the non-critical phases of flight, the cabin crew is required to be inside the cockpit and occupy the observer seat. In no case the cabin crew will occupy the seats meant for cockpit crew...(but will remain vigilant) in case of subtle incapacitation of the flight deck crew.”
Airlines such as Finnair and AirAsia have conducted dance and birthday celebrations onboard their flights. Air Sahara and Damania Airways in the 1990s also used to hold shows onboard.
“I think if it was brief and light-hearted. It is difficult to say its violation of safety,” said G.R. Gopinath, a low-fare aviation pioneer. “If you look at Virgin Blue flights, they do a lot of fun things and even Southwest Airlines, mother of all LCCs (low-cost carriers), does lots of these things to break monotony. If it’s done in limits it is not a problem at all, as long as safety is not endangered.”
SpiceJet faces DGCA show-cause notice over dance on Holi flights - Livemint
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Earth
Age: 57
Posts: 12
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
This is definitely a case of sour grapes for some of the other carriers that must have fuelled the DGCA into isuing a show cause notice. All this has done is shown the ignorance and poor knowledge of aviation that the DG himself has. To say that the C of G f the aircraft would have been altered by the dancing is laughable. For the Capt to step out and shake a leg s not a safety issue, he could well have done it in the toilet where he is allowed to go.
Kudos to Spice jet finally some lateral thinking and spice in a very regulated industry. Keep it up.
Kudos to Spice jet finally some lateral thinking and spice in a very regulated industry. Keep it up.
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Well thats a big volcano...
Posts: 369
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
From watching the videos on youtube, I would be more concerned over how empty those flights were! Looks to be one third or half full in each one!
And someone needs to give those pilots seen in the videos some common sense lessons!
And someone needs to give those pilots seen in the videos some common sense lessons!
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Cochin VOCI , India
Age: 35
Posts: 1,605
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: aviationland
Posts: 31
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
“They conducted eight flights on which there was dance in the aisle area harming passenger safety. The flights were reduced to a mockery, the centre of gravity of the aircraft could have been impacted,” the official said. “Mobiles were used to capture the show in violation of our rules. The dance could have provoked passengers into unruly behaviour. The captain came out and was dancing outside the cockpit.”
Yes the DG needs to be briefed not only about the technical and other aspects of aviation but also a lot of common sense and to say that "The dance could have provoked passengers into unruly behavior" only shows the mental state of the people working in the DGCA.
DGCA didn't bother to take necessary steps in order to remain Category 1 but is best in killing the passion and spirit of aviation. SHAME ON YOU DGCA.
Yes the DG needs to be briefed not only about the technical and other aspects of aviation but also a lot of common sense and to say that "The dance could have provoked passengers into unruly behavior" only shows the mental state of the people working in the DGCA.
DGCA didn't bother to take necessary steps in order to remain Category 1 but is best in killing the passion and spirit of aviation. SHAME ON YOU DGCA.
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: N00 E00
Posts: 94
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Mr.DGCA you should be the last person and an aviation authority talking about flight safety , Half of the dumb nuts warming the chairs in DGCA cant even spell safety properly forget about complying with them . you and your workforce which pretends that is overworked is not even qualified enough to sit a Paan shop ! you should be ashamed of yourselves for looting the country !
i feel its time that at-least the passengers should come out in support of the crew who are under suspension ! they definitely owe it to them .
i feel its time that at-least the passengers should come out in support of the crew who are under suspension ! they definitely owe it to them .
