B’lore-bound IndiGo A320neo plane back after ‘caution’ alert

Mumbai A Bangalore-bound IndiGo A320neo aircraft, which took off from the city on Thursday morning, had to return to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport

Mumbai A Bangalore-bound IndiGo A320neo aircraft, which took off from the city on Thursday morning, had to return to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), within an hour, after the pilot observed a caution message — allegedly owing to high vibrations in an older version of a Pratt & Whitney (P&W) engine — mid-air. While the aircraft safely landed at Mumbai around 10.38am, the aviation regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), grounded it immediately.

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An IndiGo spokesperson said, “An IndiGo A320neo aircraft was operating Mumbai-Bangalore [route] this morning. During the flight, the pilot observed a caution message. Standard operating procedures were followed and the aircraft returned to Mumbai as a precaution. The aircraft is currently under inspection at Mumbai.” Sources from the DGCA said that the reason the aircraft, VT-IVU, returned was that high vibrations were felt in the second engine twice — once, momentarily, when the aircraft climbed 4,000ft, and a second time, when it had climbed 10,000ft (for 35 seconds).

Older versions of P&W engines have been facing high vibration issues, owing to which DGCA has asked IndiGo and GoAir to replace their unmodified engines with modified ones.