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The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has decided to ground the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft operated by Indian operators as specific safety concerns raised by the aviation watchdog were not answered.
BS Bhullar, Director General, DGCA, told newspersons here on Wednesday that while it shared with the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Boeing all the steps it is taking to ensure safe flights by the aircraft, the responses received from them were generic.
“It was a general thing. On the specific issues we raised, we felt that they were not being addressed. Word over the general (feeling) of very robust regulators is that, at this moment, there are safety concerns ,” said the DG.
He added that Boeing responded to the Indian authorities’ mails “(but) at the end of the day we took this decision from the safety point of view because we did not get more confidence from the communication.”
Bhullar further said the situation is changing almost on an hourly basis.
“We had 12 Boeing MAX flying at the time of the ban but earlier Jet’s five were also flying. On a daily basis we were monitoring them. Not only MAX, but all aircraft,” he added.
The DGCA grounded all Indian-registered Boeing MAX aircraft from 4 pm on Wednesday. It has also banned the aircraft from Indian airspace.
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