10 July,2009 08:50 AM IST | | Aditya Anand
Cash-strapped airlines may be compromising on safety
Are airlines compromising on your safety when they cut costs? A DGCA diktat wants cash-strapped airlines compliance on regular aircraft maintenance and safety.
But two incidents of landing gear failure within a month have left aviation experts fearing the worst.
Last morning, minutes after the 5.57 am Mumbai-Ahmeda-bad Go Air flight (G8 109) with 64 passengers on board took off, it returned to land following a landing gear failure.
However, the pilot who initially sought local assistance (fire crash tenders) from the Air Traffic Control (ATC) changed the request saying no help was needed.
Second incident
This is the second landing emergency at Mumbai airport this week, the first being a Saudia aircraft whose tyre burst upon landing amid heavy rains on July 4.
u00a0
"In their effort to cut costs, airlines have been delaying the maintenance and servicing of the aircraft.
Landing gear not functioning suddenly is a serious matter," said aviation expert Air Marshal S Ramdas, hinting at the incidents being a result of possible cost-cutting initiative.
u00a0
Added DGCA chief Naseem Zaidi, "Airline heads have already been told to see that safety is not compromised."
u00a0
He added that the DGCA had sought information from airlines on cost cutting and was constantly scrutinising how airlines were cutting corners.
u00a0
"This incident too will be scrutinised from all aspects, including cost savings," he said.u00a0
Yesterday's incident is also a reminder of the May 27 landing gear failure involving an Air India Boeing 747-400 aircraft flying between Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) and Mumbai.
"The pilot turned back to Riyadh after the landing jammed. The plane was carrying 300 passengers," an Air India crewmember said.
u00a0
Air India incident
In the Air India incident, the airlines' dispatch section ordered the captain to fly to Mumbai, about three-and-a-half-hours away despite the landing gear failure, which he refused.
He later complained to the DGCA after the airline-initiated action against him.
u00a0
"The captain was asked to fly under approved Minimum Equi-pment List (MEL) requirements to Mumbai immediately after the incident flight, but refused to do so.
A replacement commander was then sent to Riyadh, who ferried the aircraft," said Zaidi, confirming the pilot's complaint. DGCA rules state that a flight with gear down in night conditions is not permitted.
Poor Maintenance Crash
Poor aircraft maintenance cost Hapag-Lloyd's Airbus A310-300 flight HF-3378 from Chania (Greece) to Hannover (Germany) with 142 passengers and 8 crew on July 12, 2000, to crash-land.
The crew could not retract the gear, but continued their flight and crash-landed short of the runway in Vienna (Austria). Passengers got off with just minor injuries, but the plane had to be written off.
