DGCA takes up IndiGo incidents with P&W; engine maker's service bulletin on second phase recall in 60 days

Aviation regulator DGCA on Thursday said Pratt & Whitney will issue a service bulletin regarding the second phase of recall of its engines in two months and most of the engine removals are expected in the first quarter of 2024.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has also taken up with Pratt & Whitney (P&W) the three incidents of IndiGo planes suffering engine issues in recent weeks and had sought urgent intervention, according to a note.

Out of the three incidents of In-Flight Shut Down (IFSD), two happened on August 28, involving Madurai-Mumbai and Kolkata-Bengaluru flights that were operated with A321 neo planes. The third one involving the Amritsar-Delhi flight, operated with an A320 neo aircraft, happened on September 3.

IndiGo fleet of A320 planes are powered by P&W engines and a total of 11 engines were impacted due to the High Pressure Turbine (HPT) hub issues that were flagged by the engine maker in July.

Globally, a total of 200 engines were to be recalled due to the HPT hub issues which could only be detected with an Angular Ultra Sonic Inspection (AUSI) at shop level.

In the first phase, the impacted engines were required to be removed before September 15 for the AUSI in a shop.

In the note, DGCA said that 11 engines of the IndiGo fleet were impacted and out of these, six were part of the current P&W AOG (Aircraft on Ground) and only five were operating engines, which were removed before September 15.

"On September 11, P&W indicated that the phase-2 recall is being reviewed by P&W which will require removal of up to 600 engines between 2023 and 2026, with most of the removals in Q1 of 2024. P&W will issue a Service Bulletin in the next 60 days with the fleet management action plan," as per the note.