5 out of 11 P&W engines removed from IndiGo fleet: DGCA
The DGCA also informed Pratt & Whitney of three incidences involving IndiGo aircraft engine failure and requested a prompt response from the engine manufacturer.
The airline’s fleet of Pratt & Whitney (PW) engines was affected by two consecutive in-flight shutdown (IFSD) occurrences on August 29, according to aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). However, just five working engines have been removed.
Additionally, the aviation authority has brought up three incidences of IndiGo jet engines failing with Pratt & Whitney and requested a prompt response from the engine manufacturer.
On August 28, two in-flight shutdown events involving flights from Madurai to Mumbai and Kolkata to Bengaluru, both using A321 neo aircraft, occurred. On September 3, a third incident involving a trip from Amritsar to Delhi, again using an A320 neo aircraft, occurred.
Following the discovery of an irregularity in the hub that could only be found with an Angular UltraSonic Inspection (AUSI) at the shop level, P&W announced a recall of 200 engines globally in July of this year due to High-Pressure Turbine (HPT) hub concerns.
The affected engines have to be taken out by September 15 in the first phase.
Only five working engines were removed prior to September 15th out of the 11 engines of the IndiGo fleet that were affected by this, according to a DGCA official on Thursday. Of these, six were a part of the current PW AOG (aircraft on ground).
The second phase of the recall, which calls for the removal of up to 600 engines between 2023 and 2026, with the majority of those removals occurring in Q1 of 2024, was indicated by P&W on Monday, according to the DGCA.
According to a statement from the DGCA, “PW will issue an SB with the fleet management action plan in the next 60 days.”
With significant vibration and low oil pressure in one engine, followed by an engine stall, two occurrences involving IndiGo’s A321Neo aircraft with registrations VT IUJ and VT IUF that were traveling from Madurai to Mumbai and Kolkata to Bengaluru, respectively, were discovered.
Metallic chips were found on the oil chip detector after landing on both aircraft at the Mumbai airport.
On Sunday, September 3, a similar issue occurred when an IndiGo A320 neo aircraft (VT-IVI) traveling from Amritsar to Delhi was engaged in an ordered IFSD. The crew noticed low oil pressure on engine number 2 and the aircraft was forced to return to Amritsar.
The afflicted engine had an exterior oil leak, according to the DGCA, but no vibration or oil chip reports were made.
The airline conducted the Boroscopic Inspection (BSI) of the IFSD-related engines as a result of these accidents.
The engines implicated in the two accidents on August 29 were found to have damage to the Stage 1 blades of the HPT, however on September 3 there was no abnormality found in the BSI of the impacted engine.
Metallic chips were found on the oil chip detector after landing on both aircraft at the Mumbai airport.
On Sunday, September 3, a similar issue occurred when an IndiGo A320 neo aircraft (VT-IVI) traveling from Amritsar to Delhi was engaged in an ordered IFSD. The crew noticed low oil pressure on engine number 2 and the aircraft was forced to return to Amritsar.
The afflicted engine had an exterior oil leak, according to the DGCA, but no vibration or oil chip reports were made.
The airline conducted the Boroscopic Inspection (BSI) of the IFSD-related engines as a result of these accidents.
The engines implicated in the two accidents on August 29 were found to have damage to the Stage 1 blades of the HPT, however on September 3 there was no abnormality found in the BSI of the impacted engine.
The engines implicated in all three instances had, according to the DGCA, logged more than 3,000 hours since their last service visit.
The DGCA has instructed Indigo to locate and perform BSI on all the engines installed on A321 aircraft in response to the blade damage seen in the aircraft engines that were in use on August 29.
As a result, the BSI was performed on three engines once they were discovered, but no irregularity was found in any of the engines. Five engines were identified, and the BSI was performed on the identified engines, but no abnormality was observed in any of the engines, the statement said. Indigo was further instructed to conduct BSI on the engines installed on the A321 aircraft, which had flown more than 2,500 hours since the last shop visit.
Additionally, the DGCA brought up the three occurrences with P&W on September 1 and required OEM’s quick, highest-level action for appropriate mitigation.
“P&W was also advised to identify the probable cause of the HPT blade damage along with the additional inspection(s)/task(s), recommended by P&W, if any, to detect the deterioration at an early stage to be intimated along with data of such failures globally and the mitigation measures recommended by P&W to be shared with DGCA,” the regulator stated.
