New Delhi: All Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft would be grounded in India by 4 pm on Wednesday, said a senior official of Indian aviation watchdog DGCA.
The decision came days after a 737 MAX 8 aircraft operated by the Ethiopian Airlines crashed near Addis Ababa killing 157 people, including four Indians.
On Tuesday night, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) announced its decision to ground the aircraft that are currently being used by airline companies in India.
“We will ground all Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft, which are currently in use by Indian airlines, by 4 pm today,” the DGCA official told PTI on Wednesday morning.
SpiceJet has around 12 such aircraft in its fleet. Jet Airways has five, which have been grounded already.
In a statement Wednesday, SpiceJet said,” SpiceJet has suspended Boeing 737 Max operations following DGCA’s decision to ground the aircraft.”
“Safety and security of our passengers, crew and operations are of utmost importance to us and we will be working with the regulator and the manufacturer to attain normalcy in our operations.
“We are confident of accommodating the vast majority of our passengers and minimise inconvenience,” the airline said.
The Ethiopian Airlines incident on Sunday was the second such crash involving a Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft in less than five months.
In October last year, an aircraft operated by Lion Air crashed killing over 180 people in Indonesia.
The European Union and many other countries across the world have already banned the use of the 737 Max 8 aircraft in their respective airspace.
Also read: Why Ethiopian Airlines crash has put the spotlight on Boeing’s most modern jets
During months of February – March 2019 , aviation sector , both military and civil , have witnessed mishaps in the air. Military jets have met with accidents and so is the case with drones. Aviation industry through Boeing 737 aircrafts has been in the news for worrisome concerns. Two major mishaps in the air have killed some hundreds. The latest such mishap in the air involving Boeing 737 plane happened on 10 March 2019 when an Ethiopian Airlines flight crashed killing all 157 persons on board. These circumstances followed a rethinking in the aviation sector. Several countries across the world are reported to have grounded more Boeings. In this context , it may be apt to refer readers to this Vedic astrology writer’s predictive alerts for more care and appropriate strategy brought to public domain quite often since last year October 2018 , through social media plus submission of comments to a number of newspapers across the world. In order that readers refresh their memory , the same is being reproduced here :-
“The following alert for more care and appropriate strategy in relation to aviation industry was made by this Vedic astrology writer over three months past in October 2018 :-
‘Astrologically speaking , aviation industry , world-wide and in India as well , could have focus for doing much to correct the systems or to innovate with strategies . Such aspects as skilled work-force or improved technology or know-how could also be in focus. Major air accidents at vulnerable locations due to some mechanical defect or oversight – negligence cannot be ruled out. This scenario can come up during coming last two months of present year 2018 and during new year 2019 , more so during February – March. So need is to be alert for more care and appropriate strategy’.
Note : Dates 13 to 15 February , 21 to 23 February and 2 to 4 March in 2019 , 11-12 March or a day prior and after to these dates looks to be calling particular care”.
Similar alerts were indicated in this writer’s article “ World Predictions 2019” underlining need of more care and appropriate strategy in relation to flying in the air were brought to the public domain in November -December 2018. Some of the countries like China , India , France , UK , US which have reportedly grounded the Boeing 737 were indicated in the aforesaid article for more such care and appropriate strategy. The events which have unfolded on the ground during the period covered by the alert suggest that the alert was precise and meaningful.