What is the lowdown on faulty plane

engines?

aditya anand
March 24, 2018 21:30 IST
Updated: March 24, 2018 21:30 IST
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InterGlobe Aviation-run budget carrier IndiGo on Friday cancelled over 80 flights as the airline
grounded more Airbus A320 Neo (new engine option) planes due to engine issues. PTI Photo
(PTI8_18_2017_000167B)  

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The Hindu Explains

What is it?

On March 12, India’s aviation safety regulator, Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA),
grounded 11 planes — eight IndiGo and three GoAir aircraft. All of these Airbus aircraft are
A320s fitted with a faulty engine made by Pratt and Whitney (P&W), an American
manufacturer. This led to massive flight cancellations by the two airlines — IndiGo had to cancel
488 flights while GoAir scrapped 138, hitting travel plans of nearly 1 lakh passengers.

How did it come about?

In 2014, P&W developed an engine called the PW1100G. A geared turbofan engine, it promised
to be 16% more fuel efficient than the old ones and 75% less noisy on the ground, making it a
good bet for airlines. But there were problems with the engine. The Doha-based carrier, Qatar
Airways, which was one of the launch customers, refused to take delivery of A320neos since
December 2015 over performance issues with the aircraft’s engines. By 2017, it decided to swap
its order for up to 80 Airbus A320neos for the larger, longer-range A321 version.

In India too, several issues cropped up. These included longer start-up times as well as premature
wear and tear of two components of the engine, forcing IndiGo and GoAir to fly these planes at
lower altitudes to ensure the engines did not get strained. Some planes were also grounded
because of reliability issues, leading to the cancellation of 84 flights in a single day on August
18, 2017.

While the problem was fixed, fresh trouble emerged last month, forcing the European Aviation
Safety Agency (EASA) to issue an emergency order that no plane with both engines affected be
operated. The DGCA on March 12 grounded 11 A320neo aircraft fitted with the faulty engine
and operated by IndiGo and GoAir following three occurrences of in-flight engine shut-down
being reported in a fortnight.

Why does it matter?

The grounding of these aircraft on account of in-flight engine shutdown raised a question about
the safety of aircraft operations, leading to two separate public interest litigation petitions being
filed in the Bombay and Delhi High Courts. Both petitions have been admitted, and the DGCA
has been asked whether the A320neo planes are airworthy. On March 12, the DGCA issued a
statement that in a communication, P&W had not given any firm commitment as to when the
issues of the engines would be resolved but informed that all engines would be replaced by early
June. The petitions also question the discovery of metal chips in the neo engine of a plane which
was grounded in New Delhi on March 18. Metal chips, according to the petitioners, are found
only when an engine starts disintegrating.

What lies ahead?

The DGCA is in touch with the stakeholders and will review the situation as and when EASA
and P&W address the issue. Till then, the aircraft will remain grounded. Airline sources said
P&W would deliver two engines this week and the remaining in the next 40 days. But with 626
flights out of the system, summer is the time when travel agents have predicted a rise in airfare.
The DGCA’s latest data show that airlines are flying with 90% load factor for the past six
months. Now that some capacity is out of the system (due to the grounding), all flights are going
full. So when additional demand would be generated in the peak season, fares are expected to
rise. The government says it is monitoring the situation closely.