New Delhi: An Indigo A320neo aircraft had to return to Mumbai airport from where it had taken as the pilot detected high engine vibrations. This is the second time that an IndiGo A320neo aircraft have encountered vibration issues with one of its engine. In both cases, the aircraft were grounded, pending inspections and a clearance to fly.
IndiGo flight 6E-236 was flying from Mumbai to Bangalore. It had virtually covered half the distance when the pilot decided to turn back after seeing a caution advisory in an instrument panel, the airline which has been having issues with Pratt and Whitney (P&W) engines said in a statement.
“An IndiGo A320neo aircraft was operating Mumbai-Bangalore this morning. During flight, the pilot observed a caution message. Standard operating procedures were followed and the aircraft was returned to Mumbai as a precaution,” IndiGo said in a statement.
It should be stated here that a few days back, December 2 to be precise, another Indigo A320neo flying from Chennai to Hyderabad faced the same issue and had to be grounded after landing.
IndiGo is increasingly flying into turbulence ever since the DGCA’s American counterpart Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) last month told operators of the A320neo across the globe to urgently modify a critical component of the aircraft’s low-pressure turbine.
“These conditions, if not addressed, could result in uncontained release of the LPT 3rd stage blades, failure of one or more engines, loss of thrust control, and loss of aircraft,” the DGCA said in November.
The DGCA has ordered the airline to replace all problematic Pratt & Whitney engines by the end of January or else these aircraft would be grounded. At the moment, the airline is struggling to meet this requirement.
Agencies