New Delhi: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Thursday barred Airbus A320 Neos with Pratt & Whitney (PW) engines from flying to Port Blair or any other overseas route where an alternate landing place is over an hour away during any point in its entire journey over the ocean, said a senior regulatory official. This restriction will apply to IndiGo and GoAir that use PW engines on their A320 new engine option (Neo) aircraft.
“The flight from Kolkata to Port Blair is of almost 1.5-hour duration. This restriction has been imposed for safety reason as there must be an airport within one hour of flying time during entire journey of A320 Neo with PW engines so that the plane can safely land at the nearest alternate on a single engine when one engine develops a snag,” said the official. Twin engine planes can land on one engine at suitable nearest airport when an engine has a snag. IndiGo and GoAir together have over 100 PW-powered A320 Neos currently. There have been some instances of PW-powered Neos developing snags while flying to and from Port Blair.
A-320 Neo Pratt engine troubles return, now IndiGo grounds at least five planes
Secondly, the no-long-overseas-flight decision has been taken for commercial reasons also. “When a Neo with faulty Pratt engine gets stuck in Port Blair, it takes longer for the airline to fly in man and material there to repair or replace the same. Examination of the faulty PW engine also takes longer there. And Port Blair is a small airport that has one less aircraft parking bay as long as the Neo remains grounded there, limiting its capacity,” the official added.
In addition, the DGCA has also asked IndiGo and GoAir to "create awareness among cabin and cockpit crew (pilots) about odour/burning smell/smoke (even if slightest) during approach phase and positive reporting to cockpit crew for necessary action…. Log all the cases detecting odours/ smoke in cabin during operation for necessary investigation and rectification. In all odour/smoke cases, engine to be inspected in detail and to be used only after rectification of defect.”
The regulator’s latest directives for PW-powered A320 Neos also include more rigorous checks on engine components.
17/01/19 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India
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“The flight from Kolkata to Port Blair is of almost 1.5-hour duration. This restriction has been imposed for safety reason as there must be an airport within one hour of flying time during entire journey of A320 Neo with PW engines so that the plane can safely land at the nearest alternate on a single engine when one engine develops a snag,” said the official. Twin engine planes can land on one engine at suitable nearest airport when an engine has a snag. IndiGo and GoAir together have over 100 PW-powered A320 Neos currently. There have been some instances of PW-powered Neos developing snags while flying to and from Port Blair.
A-320 Neo Pratt engine troubles return, now IndiGo grounds at least five planes
Secondly, the no-long-overseas-flight decision has been taken for commercial reasons also. “When a Neo with faulty Pratt engine gets stuck in Port Blair, it takes longer for the airline to fly in man and material there to repair or replace the same. Examination of the faulty PW engine also takes longer there. And Port Blair is a small airport that has one less aircraft parking bay as long as the Neo remains grounded there, limiting its capacity,” the official added.
In addition, the DGCA has also asked IndiGo and GoAir to "create awareness among cabin and cockpit crew (pilots) about odour/burning smell/smoke (even if slightest) during approach phase and positive reporting to cockpit crew for necessary action…. Log all the cases detecting odours/ smoke in cabin during operation for necessary investigation and rectification. In all odour/smoke cases, engine to be inspected in detail and to be used only after rectification of defect.”
The regulator’s latest directives for PW-powered A320 Neos also include more rigorous checks on engine components.
17/01/19 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India
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