The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has suspended the licence of the pilot-in-command (PIC) for three months and co-pilot's licences for one month following an investigation into the tail strike of an IndiGo Airbus A321 (VT-IMW) during landing at Ahmedabad on June 15, 2023. The regulator had issued a show cause notice to the pilots regarding the incident and found the “violation of the provisions of the relevant (rules)” by the crew that had led to the same.
A senior DGCA official said, “On June 15, 2023, an Airbus 321 aircraft was involved in a tail strike while landing at Ahmedabad. DGCA investigation revealed the crew carried out the landing in deviation from established standard operating procedures. Accordingly, both crew members were issued a show cause notices by DGCA.”
A tail strike occurs when the aft fuselage (tail) of an aeroplane comes in contact with the runway during either take-off or landing. According to the aviation website Skybrary, statistically, most tail strikes occur on landing. “Tail strikes most often occur as a result of human error although environmental factors, such as strong gusty winds, can increase the potential for an event,” Skybrary states.
The DGCA official said: “After examination of their replies and relevant facts, the license of the PIC has been suspended for three months and that of the co-pilot for one month for violation of the provisions of the relevant Civil Aviation Requirements and SOPs.”
DGCA fines IndiGo
Meanwhile, the DGCA penalised IndiGo Rs 30,00,000 for lapses that have led to as many as four tail strikes within six months this year alone on its Airbus A321 aircraft. DGCA chief Vikram Dev Dutt had ordered a special audit of the airline to review its documentation and procedure on operations, training, engineering, and flight data management programme. This audit revealed “certain systemic deficiencies in documentation pertaining to operations, training procedures and engineering procedures,” the regulator said in a statement.