India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation has imposed new operating restrictions and inspections on Airbus A320neo aircraft powered by Pratt & Whitney PW1100G geared turbofan engines.
Following consultation with operators GoAir and IndiGo, the regulator issued a directive on 17 January barring PW1100G-powered A320neos from operating flights to Port Blair, along with a series of inspections on the engines to identify and correct potential low-pressure turbine (LPT) blades and dry face seal failures.
The two airlines have been mandated to carry out weekly inspections of third stage LPT blades.
They are to also conduct borescope inspections on the number 3 bearing front and aft carbon seal. For newer engines, borescope inspection is to be carried out at the first oil filter change, while engines with less than 1,000 flight hours are to have borescope inspection at the "next opportunity".
In the event of smoke and odour issues, flight crew are to identify the source and log all cases for necessary investigation and rectification.
The DGCA's latest directive comes amid reports of more PW1100G-powered A320neos being grounded by IndiGo and GoAir over technical faults.
Flight Fleets Analyzer shows that IndiGo operates 67 A320neo-family aircraft, while GoAir has 29 of the re-engined narrowbody.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
