9th incident in 24 days: SpiceJet's Dubai-Madurai flight delayed as nose wheel malfunctions
New Delhi(PTI): SpiceJet's Dubai-Madurai flight was delayed on Monday after the Boeing B737 Max aircraft's nose wheel malfunctioned, Directorate General of Civil Aviation officials said.
Monday's incident is at least the ninth incident of technical malfunction in a SpiceJet aircraft in 24 days.
On July 6, the DGCA issued a show-cause notice to SpiceJet following eight incidents of technical malfunction in its aircraft since June 19. The aviation regulator said the budget carrier had "failed" to establish safe, efficient and reliable air services.
On Monday, the Boeing B737 Max aircraft with registration number VT-SZK operated the Mangaluru-Dubai flight, DGCA officials noted. After the aircraft landed, an engineer did a walk around inspection and found the nose wheel strut was compressed more than usual, they said.
The engineer therefore decided to ground the aircraft, the officials noted. The airline sent another aircraft from Mumbai to Dubai to operate the return Dubai-Madurai flight, they stated.
Asked about the matter, a SpiceJet spokesperson said, "On July 11, 2022, SpiceJet flight SG23 operating from Dubai to Madurai was delayed due to a last minute technical issue. Alternate aircraft was arranged immediately which brought passengers back to India."
"Flight delays can happen with any airline. There has been no incident or a safety scare on this flight," the spokesperson added.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
