During a flight from Hyderabad to Port Blair, aircraft IndiGo Airbus A320 Neo suffered a tilt in mid-air as a result of the technical fault, reports Times of India (TOI). The incident that happened on Tuesday, 20 November 2018, did not cause much panic as the pilots managed to level the aircraft within minutes. The flight continued its flight and had a safe landing at Port Blair.
“The pilots are trained to handle such unexpected turn of events. They equalised the power output of both the engines after which the plane continued flying safely to Port Blair,” a senior official from Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said. The investigation board of the airline that comprises of officials from DGCA will investigate the matter.
According to an IndiGo spokesperson, the incident was a minor engine sensor issue that did not warrant any automated caution. IndiGo Airbus A320 Neo is twin-engine aircraft with two Pratt and Whitney (P&W) engines. The part of the engine was replaced after landing. According to the report, twin-engine aircraft are capable of landing safely on the single-engine as well.
A320 Neo with P&W engines are known for combustion chamber-related snags
Before two years, there existed a restriction for the Indian carriers operating the A320 Neo with P&W engines to fly to coastal areas. “At that time, these engines were suffering lots of combustion chamber-related snags. P&W told us that it could be happening due to high salinity and we accordingly advised IndiGo and GoAir to avoid flying to coastal areas,” the report quoted an anonymous source.
DGCA has not allowed the flight of A320 Neos with P&W engines to fly on routes where the distance to the nearest airport is more than an hour. This prevents the carriers from operating on longer sectors. Due to this restriction, aircraft with P&W engines under the service of Indian airlines do not have ‘Extended Diversion Time Operations’ (EDTO) clearance. However, the US and European aviation regulators gave the consent for such flights in the last two years.
IndiGo has reportedly submitted a request to remove the restriction of flights on longer sectors. “We will observe the performance of the A320 Neo P&W engines for a minimum of four months to see if the snags are under control before deciding on the request,” TOI quoted an anonymous source from DGCA.
