DGCA Clears Boeing 737-8 Max Planes After Inspection

New Delhi, Jan 8 (PTI) Aviation watchdog DGCA on Monday said the checks of operational Boeing 737-8 Max planes in the country have been completed satisfactorily, an inspection that was ordered as a precautionary measure in the wake of an incident involving an Alaska Airlines aircraft last week.

The checks of the wing emergency exits have been completed for 32 aircraft.

The inspection of these planes was ordered on January 6 following an incident involving Alaska Airlines' Boeing 737-9 Max aircraft on January 5.

It had resulted in an in-flight departure of a mid-cabin door plug, which resulted in rapid decompression of the airplane, according to the DGCA.

As a precautionary measure, the regulator said it directed all Indian operators with Boeing 737-8 Max aircraft to check the operation and proper closing of all over wing emergency exits by January 7.

"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 B737-8 200 aircraft which has a mid-cabin door on which the operational check has also been completed satisfactorily," the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said.

In a statement on Monday, Akasa Air said that subsequent to the guideline issued by DGCA, it has completed a thorough inspection of its entire fleet of in-service Boeing 737 Max aircraft.

"We can confirm that there are no adverse findings. We can also confirm that there was no disruption to our operations during this time," it said.

SpiceJet said it has conducted a comprehensive examination of its Boeing 737 Max fleet as per the directives of the DGCA.

"No adverse findings were identified during this inspection. Our flight operations remained unaffected and continued to operate as usual," the airline said in a statement.

There was no comment from Air India Express.

Indian carriers do not have Boeing 737-9 Max aircraft in their fleets now. The Alaska Airlines plane's outer section, including a window, fell off mid-air on January 5.