The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said on Monday the inspections of Boeing 737-8 Max planes in India were completed satisfactorily. These inspections were ordered following an incident involving an Alaska Airlines aircraft last week. The checks focused on the wing emergency exits, successfully concluding for 32 aircraft.
The checks were initiated on January 6 after an incident involving Alaska Airlines’ Boeing 737-9 Max aircraft on January 5, where a mid-cabin door plug detached mid-flight, causing rapid decompression.
The DGCA instructed Indian operators with Boeing 737-8 Max aircraft to examine and ensure proper closure of all over-wing emergency exits by January 7. Air India Express, SpiceJet, and Akasa Air successfully performed these checks on their operational fleets of Boeing B737-8 Max aircraft, including one B737-8200 model with a mid-cabin door, all concluding satisfactorily.
“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’s fleet includes one B737-8 200 aircraft, which has a mid-cabin door on which the operational check has also been completed satisfactorily,” the DGCA said.
In response to the DGCA directive, Akasa Air confirmed a thorough inspection of its Boeing 737 Max fleet, reporting no adverse findings and no operational disruptions. SpiceJet also confirmed the comprehensive examination of its Boeing 737 Max fleet without identifying any issues or operational disruptions.
There has been no statement from Air India Express regarding these checks. Indian carriers presently do not operate Boeing 737-9 Max aircraft in their fleets. The incident involving the Alaska Airlines plane saw the outer section, including a window, detach mid-air on January 5.
(With PTI inputs)