Engine failure: IndiGo grounds 3 A320 neos
Manju.V@timesgroup.com
Mumbai: Low-cost airline IndiGo grounded three Airbus A320neo (new engine option) aircraft on Friday after the European aviation regulator issued an emergency directive raising concerns over a potential “dual engine” failure in such aircraft that are fitted with a certain category of Pratt and Whitney engines.
A320 neos, manufactured by European aircraft manufacturer Airbus and powered by American aerospace manufacturer Pratt and Whitney’s turbofan engines, have been having engine problems since the time they were inducted into global airline fleet two years ago.
Mid-air engine shutdowns prompted EASA warning
Following the European Aviation Safety Agency’s (EASA) order, Airbus announced it has currently stopped delivering A320neo jets fitted with PW 1100 engines.
IndiGo is the largest operator of twin-engined A320neo aircraft in the world; all their 32 neos are fitted with PW 1100 engines. IndiGo A320 neos have had the most failures globally: a total of 69 instances of singleengine failure in the 18 months between March 2016 and September 2017.
The Indian regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which accepted the order, did not ground the entire A320neo fleet. The EASA warning is only for a particular “subpopulation” or sub-category of engines within this faulty engine group.
The EASA warning was necessitated by several occurrences of engine in-flight shut-down and rejected take-off involving A320neo family aeroplanes, said a top DGCA official.
Airbus has also issued an alert to operators of A320 neos, providing instructions to depair the affected engines and discontinue operations over routes where the closest runway is more than an hour away.
All three A320neo planes withdrawn from service, says IndiGo
IndiGo confirmed receiving the recommendations by Pratt & Whitney as well as EASA with respect to the A320neo aircraft powered by PW1100G – JM engines. The recommendations are with respect to a certain sub-population of engines, with a particular engine configuration. IndiGo has only three such affected aircraft.
As soon as IndiGo learned of these developments, IndiGo had proactively withdrawn the three A320neo aircraft from service with effect from February 9. Pratt & Whitney, with the support of Airbus, is in close contact with us to address the results of a recent finding related to the issue raised in the said communication.
Our precautionary measure of grounding the three aircraft resulted in cancellations of some of our flights. But we feel it was the best decision in the interest of our safe and reliable operations. The affected passengers have been accommodated in our other connections and flights of other airlines. The passengers have also been given choice of full refund as well. Safety of aircraft, passenger and crew at IndiGo is of highest priority and at no time it can be compromised with. TNN
Manju.V@timesgroup.com
Mumbai: Low-cost airline IndiGo grounded three Airbus A320neo (new engine option) aircraft on Friday after the European aviation regulator issued an emergency directive raising concerns over a potential “dual engine” failure in such aircraft that are fitted with a certain category of Pratt and Whitney engines.
A320 neos, manufactured by European aircraft manufacturer Airbus and powered by American aerospace manufacturer Pratt and Whitney’s turbofan engines, have been having engine problems since the time they were inducted into global airline fleet two years ago.
Mid-air engine shutdowns prompted EASA warning
Following the European Aviation Safety Agency’s (EASA) order, Airbus announced it has currently stopped delivering A320neo jets fitted with PW 1100 engines.
IndiGo is the largest operator of twin-engined A320neo aircraft in the world; all their 32 neos are fitted with PW 1100 engines. IndiGo A320 neos have had the most failures globally: a total of 69 instances of singleengine failure in the 18 months between March 2016 and September 2017.
The Indian regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which accepted the order, did not ground the entire A320neo fleet. The EASA warning is only for a particular “subpopulation” or sub-category of engines within this faulty engine group.
The EASA warning was necessitated by several occurrences of engine in-flight shut-down and rejected take-off involving A320neo family aeroplanes, said a top DGCA official.
Airbus has also issued an alert to operators of A320 neos, providing instructions to depair the affected engines and discontinue operations over routes where the closest runway is more than an hour away.
All three A320neo planes withdrawn from service, says IndiGo
IndiGo confirmed receiving the recommendations by Pratt & Whitney as well as EASA with respect to the A320neo aircraft powered by PW1100G – JM engines. The recommendations are with respect to a certain sub-population of engines, with a particular engine configuration. IndiGo has only three such affected aircraft.
As soon as IndiGo learned of these developments, IndiGo had proactively withdrawn the three A320neo aircraft from service with effect from February 9. Pratt & Whitney, with the support of Airbus, is in close contact with us to address the results of a recent finding related to the issue raised in the said communication.
Our precautionary measure of grounding the three aircraft resulted in cancellations of some of our flights. But we feel it was the best decision in the interest of our safe and reliable operations. The affected passengers have been accommodated in our other connections and flights of other airlines. The passengers have also been given choice of full refund as well. Safety of aircraft, passenger and crew at IndiGo is of highest priority and at no time it can be compromised with. TNN
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