DGCA warns Pratt of urgent intervention needed as 3 engines go bust within 6 days.

NEW DELHI: Alarm bells over Pratt & Whitney’s unending woes for its engines powering the Airbus A320neo family planes are now ringing globally. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has taken up the issue of three Pratt & Whitney engines’ inflight shutdowns on as many IndiGo flights “in quick succession” between August 29 and September 3, 2023, with the engine-maker.

Urgent Intervention by PW

The Indian regulator has directed “urgent intervention of the highest level for suitable mitigation” by PW by identifying probable cause of these snags. And also asked it to see if the engine deterioration could be detected at an early stage through some tests, instead of the same being realised when engine go bust in flight. PW has to submit data of its engine failures globally along with mitigation measures.

600 Engines to be Removed

“On September 11, PW (said it will) require removal of up to 600 engines (globally) between 2023 and 2026, with most of the removals in quarter 1 of 2024 (January-March). PW will issue a service bulletin in the next 60 days with the fleet management action plan,” a DGCA official said. The regulator also directed IndiGo “as a matter of abundant precaution” to conduct boroscopic Inspection (BSI) on PW engines that had done over 2,500 hours on its Airbus A321 aircraft, something the airline has complied with.

Engine Shutdown Incidents

On August 29, 2023, two IndiGo domestic routes operated on A321 saw one each of their PW engine shutting down inflight. Since twin-engine aircraft can land safely on one engine, these two so so safely, one at its destination and the other retuned to the origin. Crew on these Madurai-Mumbai and Kolkata-Bengaluru flights “observed high vibration and low oil pressure on engine number one” after which the pilots commanded in-flight shut down (IFSD) of the affected engines. Metallic chips were found on the oil chip detector in both these cases. Then on September 3, an Airbus A320 operating from Amritsar-Delhi experienced an almost similar thing.

Boroscopic Inspections

Boroscopic inspection (BSI) was done on all three engines, each of which had done over 3,000 time since last shop visit (TSLSV) for maintenance. “As a proactive measure, DGCA directed IndiGo to identify and conduct BSI of the engines installed on A321 aircraft which had done more than 3000 hours TSLSV. Three engines were identified and the BSI was carried out, however, no abnormality was observed in any of the engines. As a matter of abundant precaution, IndiGo was further directed to undertake BSI on engines installed on A321 aircraft which had done more than 2,500 TSLSV. Five engines were identified and the BSI was done on the identified engines however, no abnormality was observed in any of the engines,” the DGCA official said.

DGCA’s Action

DGCA took up the matter with PW on September 1 regarding the three incidents of engine failure in quick succession leading to IFSD, demanding OEM’s urgent intervention of the highest level for suitable mitigation. “PW had in July 2023 indicated a recall of 200 engines worldwide, due to high pressure turbine (HPT) hub issues which could only be detected with an inspection at shop level. Eleven engines of IndiGo fleet were impacted because of this… On September 11, PW indicated that the phase 2 recall is being reviewed which will require removal of up to 600 engines between 2023 and 2026, with most of the removals in Q1 of 2024. PW will issue a service bulletin in the next 60 days with the fleet management action plan.”