Amid spiralling snags, govt to review P&W engine failures on A320 Neos on Tuesday

NEW DELHI: Following a sharp rise in snags on Pratt and Whitney (PW) engines powering the Airbus-320 Neos, the government has finally decided to review this safety concern next week. Aviation secretary R N Choubey has told TOI, "(aviation) ministry has taken serious note and we will review it on Tuesday."

Choubey's remark came after yet another incident involving the perenially snag-prone Pratt & Whitney (PW) engines of the Airbus 320 Neo. An IndiGo flight from Chennai to Kolkata Thursday (January 3) experienced trouble in one of the engines.

According to sources, one of the two PW engines of the Neo (VT-ITR) emitted a bang sound followed by sparks, smoke and vibration in the engine. Since twin engine aircraft can land on one engine, this flight, 6E 923 with 136 passengers on board, also did so safely and returned to Chennai.

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Board (AAIB) has sent a team to Chennai to examine the engine to do a preliminary analysis.

An IndiGo spokesperson said the flight "6E 923 (Neo) operating Chennai-Kolkata route on January 3, 2019, returned to Chennai after take off due to a technical caution noted by the crew. The crew followed the normal operating procedures and asked for a priority landing. There was no engine shutdown and no emergency landing was declared."

The IndiGo Neo is grounded in Chennai. "The engine has to be replaced as its blades are burnt out, damaged," said sources.

Aviation authorities are learnt to be contemplating some action due to the recent spurt in the unending snags on Pratt & Whitney engines powering A320 Neos. In India, only IndiGo and GoAir use PW-powered Neos.

Among the options are to ask IndiGo and GoAir to delay taking delivery of the PW-powered Neos till the engine manufacturer is able to resolve the unending issue satisfactorily.

Recent weeks have seen a sharp rise in PW snags on the Neos. On December 23, an IndiGo Neo flying from Port Blair to Kolkata reportedly suffered engine failure. Twin-engine planes can safely land on one engine and this plane also did so by returning to Port Blair where it is grounded since then.

The DGCA had earlier asked IndiGo and GoAir not to fly Neos with Pratt engines to coastal areas as at that time it was felt that high humidity levels could be leading to a problem commonly faced by these engines. Later this informal directive was withdrawn once that issue was resolved. However, several issues keep cropping up wuth PW engines of the A320 Neos.

The concern has mounted as Indian aviation authorities are grappling with a December 10 incident of smoke engulfing an IndiGo Airbus 320 Neo and then the flight making an emergency landing in Kolkata. DGCA chief B S Bhullar had recently said PW had informed the regulator they are modifying some Neo engines by lowering temperature of the combustion chamber by 40 degrees Celsius. “It (smoke in cabin due to engine issue) was possibly the first case of this kind,” Bhullar had said.

Before the smoke scare of December 10, PW-powered A320 Neos had seen some cases of engine vibrations. IndiGo and GoAir have almost 90 PW-powered A320 Neos currently. The DGCA's November 30 statement had added that the regulator "has ensured safety of aircraft operations is not compromised at any stage”.