In yet another case of a Pratt & Whitney (P&W) engine stalling on an Airbus A320 neo, an IndiGo flight returned to Mumbai after one of its engines developed high vibrations and stalled.
The Coimbatore-bound IndiGo flight 6E-375 made an air turn back to the city within an hour of its take-off after the engine stalled midway, officials said. The pilot, however, managed to land the aircraft safely with the help of other engine.
Senior Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) officials confirmed the incident and said that the issue pertained to the engine’s low-pressure turbine (LPT). The aviation regulator said it was probing the incident, and that prima facie it appeared that damage to the LPT blades had caused the engine to stop functioning.
The Airbus aircraft powered by Pratt & Whitney engines took off at about 12.50 p.m. from the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport before landing back at about 1.55 pm, airport officials said. Officials said that the flight crew had reported the aircraft’s engine number two stalling, with high vibrations and exhaust gas temperature (EGT) overlimit. “The pilots then shut down that engine, also referred to as commanded inflight shutdown or IFSD,” an official said.
The P&W engine-powered A320 neo planes in the fleets of IndiGo and GoAir airlines have encountered glitches both mid-air and on-ground since their induction in 2016, which had also led to the grounding of some planes.
In a meeting on the issue, the DGCA had observed that with about 40% of the domestic seat capacity in India being provided by aircraft powered by the P&W engines, any knee-jerk reaction to completely shut their operations would have serious consequences for flight operations.
Published - October 25, 2019 10:15 pm IST
