After airport checks, DGCA finds multiple cases of recurring safety defects

Aviation regulator DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) sprang into action on Tuesday and carried out comprehensive surveillance during the night and early morning hours at major airports, including Delhi and Mumbai.

The surveillance covered multiple critical areas such as flight operations, airworthiness, ramp safety, air traffic control (ATC), communication, navigation and surveillance (CNS) systems, and pre-flight medical evaluations.

Throughout the surveillance, ground activities and aircraft movements were closely monitored to check the compliance of regulatory requirements and to identify weak areas for improvement, the regulator said.

This comes days after DGCA launched a "comprehensive special audit" to assess the aviation ecosystem and strengthen aviation safety architecture.

DGCA said that findings made during the surveillance include multiple cases wherein the reported defects reappeared many times on the aircraft indicating ineffective monitoring and inadequate rectification action on the defects or repeated defects.

“During maintenance of aircraft, the work order was not followed; the unserviceable thrust reverser system and flap slat lever were not locked; during maintenance, safety precautions found not taken by AME as per AMM; at places, the AME was not attending to the snag rectification; defect reports generated by the aircraft system, were not found recorded in the technical logbook; Several life vests were not properly secured beneath their designated seats; The corrosion-resistant tape on the right-hand side winglet's lower blade was found to be damaged,” the regulator said.

DGCA said at an airport, the centre line marking of a runway was observed faded. “The rapid exit taxiway, green centre lights were not unidirectional; the obstruction limitation data has not been updated for last three years and no survey has been performed despite many new constructions around the vicinity of aerodrome; number of vehicles in the ramp area were found without speed governors. These vehicles were withdrawn by cancelling there AVP and drivers ADP were suspended,” it said.

DGCA also found that ground handling equipment such as baggage trollies, BFL, etc., were found unserviceable, line maintenance stores, tool control procedures were not followed.

“A simulator was checked and found not matching with the aircraft configuration. The software was not also updated to the current version,” the regulator said.

A domestic flight of a scheduled carrier was cancelled due to worn tyres and it was released only after the required rectification was carried out, said DGCA. “All the findings observed during the surveillance have been communicated to the concerned operators for taking necessary corrective actions within seven days,” it said.

This process of comprehensive surveillance will continue in the future as well to detect hazards in the system, the aviation watchdog said.

DGCA, in its June 19 order, said these audits are expected to proactively identify systemic vulnerabilities and provide a holistic evaluation of the aviation sector, meticulously examining safety, operational efficiency, and regulatory compliance. The regulatory scrutiny comes in the wake of the fatal crash of Air India flight AI171 in Ahmedabad.