Aircraft fire: Parcel was not on cargo list

Mumbai: In a major safety lapse, the parcel that caught fire in the cargo hold of a Mumbai-Hyderabad SpiceJet flight on May 27 was not listed in the flight’s cargo list. The aviation regulator’s preliminary investigation into the incident that endangered the lives of 140 passengers has revealed that the parcel had life-saving equipment, which contained aerosols and lithium batteries.

Parcels with such inflammable substances are supposed to be packed separately as per the Directorate General of Civil Aviation’s (DGCA) dangerous goods management manual. Also, pilots operating flights with such goods require a dangerous goods licence.

“It is a major safety and security lapse. The airline is unable to explain how the parcel reached the aircraft’s belly,” said a senior DGCA official requesting anonymity, as he is not authorised to talk to the media.

The DGCA is now probing whether the Spicejet ground staff loaded the “undeclared” parcel by mistake or someone slipped it in without informing the airline.

03/06/11 Soubhik Mitra/Hindustan Times

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Categories: Airports Jun 2011, Safety Jun 2011, spicejet Jun 2011