NEW DELHI: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has asked Jet Airways and SpiceJet to take corrective measures to address any possible issues with their Boeing 737 Max aircraft that could lead to significant altitude loss. Jet Airways and SpiceJet are the only airlines in India that fly the Boeing 737 Max. The advisory comes in the wake of the recent air crash in Indonesia that killed all 189 on board.
On October 30, Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu had said the DGCA had been asked to look at engine and other issues of Boeing 737 Max planes following which the aviation regulator reviewed the performance of such aircraft operated by the two airlines.
Based on initial investigation of the Lion Air plane crash, the US watchdog Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing had issued advisories on Wednesday on what could be done to prevent similar incidents involving the Boeing 737 Max.A DGCA official said the two advisories talk about erroneous high angle of attack sensor input and corrective action for the same as it has potential for repeated nose-down trim commands of horizontal stabilizer.
Angle of attack is a technical term that refers to the angle between the oncoming air or relative wind and a reference line on the airplane or wing, according to Boeing. The DGCA official said if the condition is not addressed, it could cause difficulty in controlling the airplane. The condition can even lead to “excessive nose-down attitude, significant altitude loss, and possible impact with terrain (plane crash)” . The DGCA official said changes to the flight manual have to be done within three days after getting the airworthiness directive from the US watchdog.