Plane forced to return after engine glitch
MUMBAI/NEWDELHI: A Hyderabadbound IndiGo flight returned to Mumbai on Thursday morning after one of its engines malfunctioned less than an hour after take-off, according to officials who said the aircraft was an Airbus A320Neo and the problem appeared to be a recurrence of an engine issue that has in recent years led to several mid-air scares and flight cancellations.
According to officials at the Mumbai airport, the flight landed safely while a full emergency was declared at the airport.
Some A320 Neo aircraft are equipped with Pratt&Whitney engines that have had a history of malfunctioning during flight, forcing authorities in India and several other countries to order airlines to replace or restrict the use of such equipment.
In addition to IndiGo, GoAir flies several of the A320Neo aircraft that too are vulnerable to the engine issue. On Thursday, GoAir said it was suspending some flights after Pratt&Whitney and Airbus deferred deliver
ies of new engines and aircraft respectively.
When the problem came into focus in 2018, an estimated 40% of India’s domestic air traffic was believed to be on A320Neos.
IndiGo and Airbus have been ordered to equip all flights with at least one engine that is not susceptible to failures. IndiGo, which has the largest fleet of A320Neos, has been given till May 31 to replace all remaining faulty engines from its fleet.
“The IndiGo flight 6E-5384 (A320) operating Mumbai Hyderabad had an air turn back to Mumbai. During the flight, the pilot observed engine caution message and followed the laiddown standard operating procedures. The aircraft returned to Mumbai and is under inspection at the Mumbai airport. All passengers were accommodated on another flight to Hyderabad,” said an IndiGo spokesperson on Thursday’s incident.
Passengers who were on the flight said there was panic on-board. “We saw sparks from the engine and even smelt smoke. We did not know what to do and were only praying to land back safely,” said a passenger, who did not want to be identified.
Another passenger, a Mumbai resident, said, “We had flown for over 20 minutes when the pilot decided to divert back to Mumbai. Though the crew tried handling the situation and reassured passengers, all of us panicked. I have been travelling by air but such a situation was a nightmare for me.”
According to Mumbai airport officials, a full emergency was declared until the aircraft could land safely at the main runway. During full emergency, fire tenders along with ambulances are kept ready.
“At around 1.17 am, the pilot declared PAN-PAN (international standard urgency signal) and requested permission from the Mumbai Air Traffic Control (ATC) to return as its engine 1 had stalled,” said a senior Mumbai airport official, asking not to be named.
A PAN-PAN alert is a milder version of a MAYDAY, which requires ATC officials to treat the flight as top priority.
A passenger aircraft can fly with one functioning engine, but will need to land as soon as possible. Officials from the directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) have previously said that replacing at least one of the potentially faulty engines minimises the risk of a catastrophe but it still an “unsafe condition”. “With one modified (which fixes the vulnerability) engine on all aircraft, there is 100% passenger safety but symptoms from unmodified engines will have to be responded to and resolved, so these air turn-back or diversions might continue,” a DGCA official told HT last week, asking not to be named.
Problems with the P&W engines came into focus in India in 2018, prompting the DGCA to issue a series of advisories.
There are 127 P&W powered A320Neos in India, with IndiGo deploying the bulk of this at 98 aircraft. The rest are on GoAir’s fleet. Air India and Vistara too operate A320Neo jets, but these are equipped with a different engine.