The aviation safety regulator in India has ordered “enhanced surveillance” for Boeing 737 aircraft in the country following the fatal crash of one that killed 132 people in China on Monday.
WHAT IS ENHANCED SURVEILLANCE?
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has already deployed monitoring teams to ensure that Indian carriers followed the prescribed norms in maintaining and operating their Boeing 737 fleets, given the unusual circumstances behind the China Eastern-operated Boeing 737-800 crash. The monitoring will continue till the aviation regulator in China ascertains the cause of the China Eastern crash and the aircraft’s role in it.
THE RELEVANCE
The Boeing 737 is the most popular narrow-bodied aircraft in the world. The US plane-maker has sold more 737 models than any other manufacturer has managed to ship their models.
However, the 737 models also have checkered history. Two Boeing 737 Max aircraft crashed within a six-month period between October 2018 and March 2019 that killed 346 people in all. Following these two crashed, the DGCA grounded Boeing 737 Max planes in the country in March 2019. After Boeing made all the necessary software rectifications to satisfy the civil airlines regulation, the DGCA lifted its ban on commercial operations of the aircraft nearly 27 months later last August.
CHINA EASTERN PLANE AND 737 MAX
The Boeing 737 Max aircraft is an advanced model of the Boeing 737-800 despite belonging to the same 737 family. The older 737 planes are the Boeing 737NG.
BOEING 737 PLANES IN INDIA
Budget airline SpiceJet has 60 Boeing 737 planes in its fleet. Of these, 47 are 737NGs and 13 737 Max. Among the older planes, SpiceJet has 36 Boeing 737-800s, five larger Boeing 737-900s, and five smaller Boeing 737-700s, the airline’s website suggests.
Air India Express has 24 Boeing 737-800 aircraft in its fleet, while Vistara has five.