India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is not the only aviation regulatory authority to have found snags with the A320neo and A320 Pratt & Whitney engines which have been making headlines for all the wrong reasons. Across the world, the Pratt & Whitney engines have been facing mid-air engine failures and the authorities are looking into the matter. As per a new mint report, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) issued a fresh warning on the Pratt & Whitney engines warning about a potential double engine failure that could occur on the flights.
EASA Warns of Double Engine Failure
The European aviation regulator said, that low-pressure turbine blades on some P&W engines on A320neo planes had low damage tolerance and could immediately “fracture", or develop cracks, on impact. “This condition, if not corrected, could lead to dual engine in-flight shutdown, possibly resulting in reduced control of the aeroplane.”
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DGCA Also Looking into the Matter
On the other hand, Indian aviation regulatory has been on the hem of the issue since earlier. DGCA chief, Arun Kumar said about this, “We are much ahead. We issued directions to this effect sometime ago and will accomplish much before their proposed timeline.” The regulator has also directed two of the airlines in India, which are operating with the P&W engines that they will have to replace the engines which are unmodified and are prone to mid-air engine failures. The deadline for this for both the airlines has been set at January 31. In India, IndiGo and GoAir are the two airlines which are using P&W engines with their A320neos. While Vistara also uses the same plane, it uses CFM engines along with the Airbus planes. At the same time P&W is also working to resolve the low-pressure turbine issue.
