This story is from January 13, 2020

Deadline to modify Pratt engines on IndiGo A320 Neos extended: DGCA

In a breather to IndiGo, the aviation regulator has extended the January 31, 2020 deadline to modify Pratt & Whitney engines on all of its Airbus A320/321 Neos by four months to May 31. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has stressed that no IndiGo Neo will be allowed to fly after that if it still has an unmodified PW engine.
Deadline to modify Pratt engines on IndiGo A320 Neos extended: DGCA
File photo
NEW DELHI: In a breather to IndiGo, the aviation regulator has extended the January 31, 2020 deadline to modify Pratt & Whitney engines on all of its Airbus A320/321 Neos by four months to May 31. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has stressed that no IndiGo Neo will be allowed to fly after that if it still has an unmodified PW engine.
“ … the process of placement of at least one modified engine on the entire fleet has been accomplished by IndiGo, well before the timeline of March 31, 2020, given by EASA (European Union Aviation Safety Agency) airworthiness directive of December 16, 2019.
About 70% of the total Neo engines of IndiGo fleet is likely to be modified by January 31, 2020. Procurement of modified engines was adversely impacted due to Christmas and New Year holidays,” a senior DGCA official said.
IndiGo and PW jointly submitted an action plan to DGCA, which said the replacement of 135 engines will be accomplished in 14 months from November 2019 to December 2020. “However, DGCA feels that it can be compressed and be achievable by May 2020. The revised timeline for the complete removal of unmodified engines from the fleet is May 31st 2020. No (IndiGo Neo) with the unmodified engine in IndiGo fleet shall be allowed to fly after that,” he added.
A DGCA probe into four back-to-back cases of PW engines on IndiGo Neos having in-flight shutdown last October had shown the failure of third-stage low-pressure turbine blades in unmodified PW engines of Neo were behind this “serious concern”.
“DGCA believes that the unmodified engines do contain an unsafe condition, which is prone to undesirable outcomes and therefore, need to be dispensed with. This observation has been acknowledged by the global regulators, US Federal Aviation Administration and EASA and therefore, both have committed to their replacement. FAA has issued an Airworthiness Directive dated November 29, 2019, mandating the removal of unmodified engines from service, in the case of Indigo Airlines by November 2020. EASA has, for the time being, vide AD dated 16th December 2019, only mandated removal of one of the unmodified engine and its replacement with a modified one on the complete fleet powered by P&W engines by March 2020 of IndiGo,” the official said.
While initially it was estimated that IndiGo will require 120 modified engines for replacement, the actual count turned out to be 135.
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