The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has suspended two Jet Airways pilots for carrying insufficient fuel and not following standard practices while flying on the Doha-Kochi sector on August 18.
The DGCA called it a “serious” incident and referred the case to the investigation body of the civil aviation ministry.
According to sources, due to bad weather, the pilot couldn’t sight the runway and had to take three rounds over the Kochi airport and then three over the Thiruvananthapuram airport instead of going to its scheduled alternate Bangalore airport. The aircraft finally landed in its seventh attempt.
The incident took place on Jet Airway’s Boeing 737 aircraft on August 18 when it was carrying 150 people including six crew members and two pilots, sources added.
The aircraft fuel was on reserve with only 270 kgs of air fuel left at the time of landing when it was supposed to carry 1,500 kgs of fuel along with the alternative fuel.
The DGCA is reviewing the fuel uplift policy of Jet Airways to examine whether the airline was carrying less fuel to save costs.
“The pilots first alternative should have been Bangalore airport. When it landed on the seventh attempt, the aircraft was left with only 270 kgs of fuel. We need to find whether they were trying to save cost by taking less fuel,” said a senior DGCA official.
The DGCA source added a Boeing 737 aircraft takes 150-200 kgs only while parking the plane.
