14 A320 neo aircraft in India have 1 faulty engine
Manju.V@timesgroup.com
Mumbai: After IndiGo last week withdrew three A320 neo (new engine option) aircraft in the wake of the European aviation regulator’s order that all such aircraft in which both Pratt and Whitney engines were of a faulty category be grounded immediately, it has emerged that India still has 11A320 neos where one engine is flawed. All 320 neos are two-engine aircraft.
If one engine fails, a twinengine aircraft can safely land with the other operative engine. Aviation experts said an aircraft that starts off with one engine that’s unreliable was not their idea of air safety.
Flights with unreliable engines raise a big question mark: Expert
European aircraft manufacturer Airbus said in response to a query on Monday that India has 14 A320neo aircraft in all where either both PW engines or one is of the said category of PW1100 engines. A senior commander said: “On a three-or four-engine aircraft, having one unreliable engine is ok. But not on a two-engine aircraft like A320neo.” As of now, 113 PWpowered A320neo aircraft are flying with 18 operators around the world, said Airbus. Statistics from Indian carriers show 45 out of these are in India. IndiGo is the lead operator with 29 (excluding the 3 grounded A320neos), followed by GoAir with 13.
Last Friday, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) issued an emergency directive following several occurrences of engine failure reported on A320neos fitted with a certain category of PW engines. The directive said this category of PW engines was more susceptible to failure and so A320 neos with both engines belonging to this category should be grounded. But A320 neos in which only one engine was of this category have been allowed to operate. Whether the 14 aircraft mentioned by Airbus include the 3 grounded by IndiGo is not clear. Currently, how many A320 neos are being operated by IndiGo and GoAir in which one of two PW engines is faulty is not known. Both airlines did not respond to a query sent by TOI. On Monday, PW said 43 engines installed on 32 A320neo aircraft worldwide come under the affected category. Of this, 21 aircraft have one faulty engine from the faulty category, and 11aircraft have two. It did not specify how many of these are in India. Capt Mohan Ranganathan, an air safety expert said, “Knowing that there are many obstacles, especially in Mumbai, that are higher than permitted, flights with unreliable engine raise a big question mark.” When told that EASA had OKed operation of A320neos with one faulty engine, Capt Ranganathan said, “This is fine in a perfect system where rules and standards are conformed to and not in a case where reliability of one of two engines is questionable.” Airbus said of the total 113 aircraft worldwide, some 10% have both engines affected. “This means a minimum of one engine needs to be changed on these aircraft. The rest of the fleet is safe to fly as per guidelines issued by DGCA and EASA,” it said.
“About 30% of 113 aircraft in operation worldwide are equipped with either both or one engine affected. The speed and thoroughness with which this issue is being addressed by all stakeholders (authorities, manufacturers, suppliers) demonstrate that aviation is one of the highest regulated industries. There is no compromise on safety. It demonstrates that the global airworthiness processes work and ensure continued safe operation of aircraft,” it added.
Technical snag delays Delhi-bound IndiGo flight for two hours
Ranchi: A New Delhi-bound IndiGo aircraft developed a technical snag on Monday, leading to a two-hour delay in its onward journey. The aircraft with 134 passengers on board originated from Delhi and touched down at Birsa Munda airport here at 9am.
The pilotreported he had heard a sound from the engine while flying the aircraft to Ranchi. A team of engineers then swept the engines for problems and detected a technical snag. The problem was minor and was rectified in 90 minutes, IndiGo authorities said. The aircraft was declared fit to fly and took off for Delhi with 153 passengers at around 11.55am. The scheduled departure time was 9.35am. “It is a normal technical snag, which posed no danger to passengers,” said Md Rizwan, IndiGo’s airport manager. “The pilot felt the engine noise was somewhat different than what is heard normally. So we decided to take preventive steps before flying the plane,” said Rakesh Kumar, OSD to the airport director. IndiGo confirmed that the aircraft developed a snag in engine 1while in flight from Kolkata to Ranchi. TNN
Manju.V@timesgroup.com
Mumbai: After IndiGo last week withdrew three A320 neo (new engine option) aircraft in the wake of the European aviation regulator’s order that all such aircraft in which both Pratt and Whitney engines were of a faulty category be grounded immediately, it has emerged that India still has 11A320 neos where one engine is flawed. All 320 neos are two-engine aircraft.
If one engine fails, a twinengine aircraft can safely land with the other operative engine. Aviation experts said an aircraft that starts off with one engine that’s unreliable was not their idea of air safety.
Flights with unreliable engines raise a big question mark: Expert
European aircraft manufacturer Airbus said in response to a query on Monday that India has 14 A320neo aircraft in all where either both PW engines or one is of the said category of PW1100 engines. A senior commander said: “On a three-or four-engine aircraft, having one unreliable engine is ok. But not on a two-engine aircraft like A320neo.” As of now, 113 PWpowered A320neo aircraft are flying with 18 operators around the world, said Airbus. Statistics from Indian carriers show 45 out of these are in India. IndiGo is the lead operator with 29 (excluding the 3 grounded A320neos), followed by GoAir with 13.
Last Friday, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) issued an emergency directive following several occurrences of engine failure reported on A320neos fitted with a certain category of PW engines. The directive said this category of PW engines was more susceptible to failure and so A320 neos with both engines belonging to this category should be grounded. But A320 neos in which only one engine was of this category have been allowed to operate. Whether the 14 aircraft mentioned by Airbus include the 3 grounded by IndiGo is not clear. Currently, how many A320 neos are being operated by IndiGo and GoAir in which one of two PW engines is faulty is not known. Both airlines did not respond to a query sent by TOI. On Monday, PW said 43 engines installed on 32 A320neo aircraft worldwide come under the affected category. Of this, 21 aircraft have one faulty engine from the faulty category, and 11aircraft have two. It did not specify how many of these are in India. Capt Mohan Ranganathan, an air safety expert said, “Knowing that there are many obstacles, especially in Mumbai, that are higher than permitted, flights with unreliable engine raise a big question mark.” When told that EASA had OKed operation of A320neos with one faulty engine, Capt Ranganathan said, “This is fine in a perfect system where rules and standards are conformed to and not in a case where reliability of one of two engines is questionable.” Airbus said of the total 113 aircraft worldwide, some 10% have both engines affected. “This means a minimum of one engine needs to be changed on these aircraft. The rest of the fleet is safe to fly as per guidelines issued by DGCA and EASA,” it said.
“About 30% of 113 aircraft in operation worldwide are equipped with either both or one engine affected. The speed and thoroughness with which this issue is being addressed by all stakeholders (authorities, manufacturers, suppliers) demonstrate that aviation is one of the highest regulated industries. There is no compromise on safety. It demonstrates that the global airworthiness processes work and ensure continued safe operation of aircraft,” it added.
Technical snag delays Delhi-bound IndiGo flight for two hours
Ranchi: A New Delhi-bound IndiGo aircraft developed a technical snag on Monday, leading to a two-hour delay in its onward journey. The aircraft with 134 passengers on board originated from Delhi and touched down at Birsa Munda airport here at 9am.
The pilotreported he had heard a sound from the engine while flying the aircraft to Ranchi. A team of engineers then swept the engines for problems and detected a technical snag. The problem was minor and was rectified in 90 minutes, IndiGo authorities said. The aircraft was declared fit to fly and took off for Delhi with 153 passengers at around 11.55am. The scheduled departure time was 9.35am. “It is a normal technical snag, which posed no danger to passengers,” said Md Rizwan, IndiGo’s airport manager. “The pilot felt the engine noise was somewhat different than what is heard normally. So we decided to take preventive steps before flying the plane,” said Rakesh Kumar, OSD to the airport director. IndiGo confirmed that the aircraft developed a snag in engine 1while in flight from Kolkata to Ranchi. TNN
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