E-Paper
Indigo, GoAir jets forced to turn back after take-off due to snags
An IndiGo flight that took off from Delhi for Hyderabad at around 8.30am on Monday returned to the capital after the second engine experienced high vibrations mid-air.
Two Airbus A320 Neo aircraft fitted with Pratt & Whitney (P&W) engines were forced to return to the airports from where they took off on Monday after developing technical snags, the aviation regulator and airlines said on Tuesday.
An IndiGo flight that took off from Delhi for Hyderabad at around 8.30am on Monday returned to the capital after the second engine experienced high vibrations mid-air. The aircraft landed safely at Delhi, following which the aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), grounded it.
DGCA officials, who didn’t want to be named, said the second engine suffered from high N2 (the rotational speed of the engine) vibrations for 15 seconds.
An IndiGo spokesperson said: “IndiGo A320 operating 6E-552 from Delhi to Hyderabad had a caution message (an alert in the cockpit) during flight. As a precautionary message, the pilot followed the laid down standard operating procedure. The aircraft returned to Delhi for further inspection.”
In the second incident, a GoAir flight from Singapore for Bengaluru returned to Changi airport allegedly because of the odor of a suspected oil leak in the cabin and cockpit. DGCA grounded the aircraft in Singapore.
A GoAir spokesperson said: “GoAir Singapore-Bengaluru flight G828 had an air turn back on priority shortly after take-off following a technical issue (on 9th December). There were 158 passengers onboard. The aircraft is currently being attended to by GoAir engineering team.”
DGCA director general Arun Kumar said: “During ground inspection at Singapore, the reported defect was not confirmed. However, troubleshooting manual (TSM, which provides maintenance personnel with a faster and direct approach to troubleshooting and corrective actions) was performed and the matter was reported to the manufacturer P&W. The aircraft has now returned from Singapore.”
The older version of P&W engines have been facing high vibration issues due to which DGCA had asked IndiGo and GoAir to replace their unmodified engines with modified P&W engines. While GoAir was asked to replace the unmodified engines by November 24, IndiGo has been given time till January 31, 2020.
Kumar said GoAir had replaced the unmodified engines on all its aircraft, as ordered by the regulator.
On December 5, an IndiGo aircraft fitted with an older version of P&W engines experienced high vibrations in the second engine, forcing it to land at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport within an hour of its take off to Bengaluru. Following the incident, DGCA grounded the aircraft.
