NEW DELHI: Homegrown private carrier SpiceJet on Friday said it has grounded three of its Boeing 737 freighter aircraft on the advice of Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI). This is to inform you that the company has grounded three of its B737 freighter aircraft on the advice of the Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI), which converted these aircraft into freighters. The aircraft will return to operations after regulatory clearance,” SpiceJet said.
“During an internal examination of IAI’s manufacturing facilities, a potential defect was discovered in the process used to manufacture the 9G rigid barrier installed on these aircraft. These aircraft will return to operations after regulatory clearance,” it said.
IAI, the major Israeli aerospace and aviation manufacturer, has suggested all operators of its converted Boeing 737 freighters to ground the aircraft after it detected an “apparent irregularity” in the production process of a rigid barrier installed in some of the total 47 converted 737s delivered to customers worldwide, according to reports.
IAI said the rigid barrier is an additional safety feature that provides emergency support under extraordinary circumstances. The company’s testing found that the part was not working as supposed to and that the issue “may limit the way the aircraft can be safely loaded for flight”.