Mumbai court disposes petition on A320neo engine, will hear case again if fresh safety issues surface

DGCA had told the court that it has checked the pre-450 series engines that have replaced the post-450 series.

The Bombay high court on Tuesday disposed of the petition that raised concerns over the safety of the A320neo aircraft and asked the petitioner to file a fresh case if complaints about the same series of aircraft came up in the future.

GoAir assured that all the grounded aircraft were back in operations and that safety precautions have been taken (HT Photo)

The court order comes after both, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and Indigo, which mostly used the A320neo aircraft – manufactured by Airbus – assured that all the grounded aircraft were back in operations and that safety precautions have been taken for operating the A320neo aircraft powered by Pratt & Whitney (P&W) engines.

The public interest litigation (PIL) was filed by a Mumbai-based resident and a frequent flier, Harish Agarwal, who raised questions on pre-450 series of the A320neo aircraft with P&W engines that were still operating, even after 14 similar aircraft (11 of Indigo and three of GoAir) were grounded by the DGCA due to safety concerns.

As per the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) directive, PW1100 engines are classified into two types or series of serial numbers – 449 and 450 and beyond. According to their directive, all the A320neo aircraft powered by P&W engines with 450 series and beyond were facing mid-air engine failure and posed a passenger-safety issue.

Making the affected aircraft airworthy, IndiGo and GoAir had replaced the faulty P&W engines in the grounded aircraft with engines of a different series, in April.

DGCA, in the last hearing of the case on April 16, had told Justice N H Patil and Justice G S Kulkarni that it has checked the pre-450 series engines that have replaced the post-450 series. The additional solicitor general representing DGCA had said they are satisfied with the engines and that according to them. all aircraft with the engines are fit to fly. The petitioner had raised questions about the affidavits and proofs of airworthiness that the aviation regulator had submitted.