The Directorate General of Civil Aviation on Monday said all Indian airlines have conducted satisfactory checks of Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft in their fleet. The Directorate had ordered airlines to conduct checks in the wake of the Alaska Airlines incident involving Boeing 737 -9 Max aircraft.
"Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft was involved in an incident on January 5, 2024, of an in-flight departure of a mid-cabin door plug which resulted in rapid decompression of the aeroplane. As a precautionary measure, DGCA on 6.1.2024 directed all Indian operators with Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft to check the operation and proper closing of all over-wing emergency exits by 7.1.2024,” ANI reported quoting DGCA.
The Directorate said the airlines have satisfactorily performed the checks. According to reports, Air India Express, Spicejet and Akasa Air operate 32 Boeing B737-8 Max aircraft as part of their fleet. “These checks have been satisfactorily performed on the operational fleet of Boeing B737-8 Max aircraft by Air India Express (4), Spicejet (8) and Akasa (20). Akasa Air fleet includes one B737-8200 aircraft which has a mid-cabin door on which the operational check has also been completed satisfactorily,” DGCA said.
On Friday, the Alaska Airlines plane's outer section, including a window, fell off mid-air. DGCA on Saturday directed domestic airlines to immediately carry out inspection of emergency exits of all Boeing 737-8 Max planes in their fleet as a precautionary measure in the wake of the incident.
-with PTI inputs.
