GoAir, IndiGo asked to replace PW engines

New Delhi: The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has asked GoAir to replace Pratt & Whitney (PW) engines which have been used for over 3,000 hours  from its 13 A320neo aircraft within the next 15 days or face grounding of airplanes. The order comes a day after the DGCA had asked IndiGo to replace its 16 A320 NEO aircraft's PW engines, used for more than 3,000 hours.

“We had day-long checks and deliberations and based on that we have decided that all aircraft which have unmodified LPT (low-pressure turbine) engines, and have done more than 2,900 hours in each case, have to be fitted with one modified LPT engine in next 15 days failing which all these aircraft shall be grounded. This has been done after studying the pattern and evaluating the risk,” a DGCA official had said on Monday.

This month, there have been three in-flight engine shut downs on the A320 (neo) fitted with Pratt and Whitney engines of Indigo, the official added.

“These shut down were commanded shut downs, however, due to the fact that they occurred on consecutive days —  24th, 25th and 26th October a DGCA team visited Indigo premises on 28th October to review the maintenance and safety data. A meeting was chaired by DG(CA) later in the day with senior Indigo team members including COO, Safety and maintenance heads. Subsequent to the discussions, Indigo has been instructed to ensure that no such Neo aircraft should be operated which has two Pratt and Whitney 1100 series engine of more than 3,000 hour's engine life each. Indigo has been given a fortnight to comply with the instructions,” the official added.

IndiGo and GoAir are the two airlines that have been facing glitches in PW engines.