The country’s civil aviation regulator, DGCA, on Monday asked IndiGo to not use such A320 neo planes that are fitted with PW engines already used for over 3,000 hours, or
face grounding of aircraft, officials said. A Directorate General of Civil Aviation official aforesaid there are 16 aircraft in IndiGo’s fleet within which both the Pratt and Whitney (PW) engines are used for over 2,900 hours.
All such 16 aircraft need to be fitted with a minimum of one modified LPT engine within the next 15 days, said the official. “Failing which, all these aircraft shall be grounded. This has been done after finding out the pattern and evaluating the danger,” the DGCA official said.
In a statement, IndiGo said, “We are continued to figure with the authorities and will take necessary actions, as required, going forward.” In October, Indigo has reported 3 in-flight engine shutdowns on the A320 (Neo) fitted with PW engines.
These were commanded shutdowns, however, because of the fact that they occurred on consecutive days — 24th, 25th, and 26th October — a DGCA team visited Indigo premises on October 28 to review the maintenance and safety data.
“A meeting was chaired by DGCA later within the day with senior Indigo team members together with COO, safety and maintenance heads. Subsequent to the discussions, Indigo has been instructed to make sure that no such neo craft ought to be operated that has 2 Pratt and Whitney 1100 series engine of a lot of than 3000 hour’s engine life each. Indigo has been given a fortnight to comply with the directions,” the official said.