India's civil aviation watchdog warns of action following detection of smoke in SpiceJet cabin

NEW DELHI, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- India's civil aviation watchdog, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), said on Monday that it was keeping a close watch on private airline SpiceJet and "shall take all appropriate action to avert any untoward incident."

The DGCA statement came in the backdrop of a SpiceJet Q400 aircraft coming from Goa making an emergency landing in Hyderabad on Oct. 12 around 11:00 p.m. local time after extensive smoke was detected in the cabin. The plane landed safely and passengers disembarked through the emergency exit.

The preliminary investigation carried out by the DGCA revealed evidence of engine oil entering the aircraft's air-conditioning system, causing smoke in the cabin.

The aviation watchdog ordered SpiceJet to send all oil samples to Canada every 15 days in order to ensure that no metal or carbon seal components are present in them. It has also instructed the airline to immediately inspect the magnetic chip detectors on all Q400 aircraft for the presence of any metal particles.

DGCA also asked the low-cost airline to conduct a one-time borescope inspection of all operational engines within one week.

SpiceJet is under enhanced surveillance of the DGCA.

On July 27, DGCA directed SpiceJet to operate a maximum of 50 percent of its flights, which were approved in the summer schedule for a period of eight weeks owing to a series of incidents involving its flights. Last month, the restrictions were extended until Oct. 29.