A potential disaster was averted when an Air India flight returned to the airport soon after take-off on Thursday morning after one of its engines shut down mid-air.
It was headed to Bengaluru from Mumbai and returned to Mumbai airport just 27 minutes after take off.
Director General of Civil Aviation Arun Kumar confirmed that the plane, AI – 639, was forced to turn back after one of its engines stopped working.
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How It Unfolded
The aircraft was an Airbus A320neo.
It had to make an emergency landing at the Mumbai airport but landed safely.
The pilots of the plane had been alerted of high exhaust gas temperatures on one of the engines just minutes after the aircraft’s departure from Mumbai at 9:43 am.
That engine shut down and the pilot landed back at the Mumbai airport at 10:10 am.
Probe Ordered
An Air India spokesperson said that the issue was a “technical glitch” and that its engineering and maintenance teams have started looking into it.
Meanwhile, another aircraft was arranged for passengers to fly to Bengaluru.
Kumar said that the matter will be investigated.
Pilots’ Diligence
An anonymous official said that the focus of the probe would be maintenance.
The Airbus A320neo has two engines and can fly safely with just one.
But the pilots were following protocol and so, opted for an emergency landing.
Images Show Serious Damage
By the time the plane landed in Mumbai, air traffic control had alerted ambulances and fire services.
The DGCA is now going through images of the engine that show serious damage, with quite a few compressor blades sheared off.
The aircraft has been grounded
Airline’s Opinion
A senior Air India official told NDTV that the incident was due to a “normal technical snag” and that the plane “returned without any turbulence”.
They added that the DGCA probe is a routine exercise carried out by the regulatory authority.
They also said that the airline’s pilots are trained to handle such situations.
Clean Track Record
Looking into the aircraft in question, it is powered by CFM LEAP engines which have had no issues so far.
This, unlike IndiGo and GoAir’s Pratt and Whitney A320neo engines which have faced serious issues such as-
- Combustion chamber distress
- Engine vibration
- Low-pressure turbine
-which have led to many in-flight engine shutdown incidents, sources in the aviation ministry said.
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