''According to sources, there have been at least 18 cases of mid-air engine failures or problems that IndiGo and GoAir have encountered with the A-320 NEO aircraft since January this year.Earlier this month, the Delhi High Court had sought responses from the DGCA on a request which sought to ground the Airbus A-320 NEO aircraft fitted with problematicLast month, the DGCA grounded Indian airlines operating the Boeing 737-MAX aircraft after the crash of an Ethiopian airliner with 157 people onboard. As per practice, the defective engines were replaced with other engines. Such engine replacement is typically done overnight. "We confirm that there is currently a DGCA audit on IndiGo which is combined with the annual main base audit," IndiGo said in a statement.In its statement, the airline has confirmed that it has received ''a limited number of show cause notices'' and ''has responded accordingly.'' The issue has been costly. IndiGo has suffered 13 engine shutdowns related to low-pressure turbines during climbs this year, according to one of the people who was directly involved in an investigation where the DGCA ran a comparative analysis on how both airlines operate. These planes are grounded and one of the PW4500 engines is being replaced in each of these aircraft.IndiGo has been struggling with the Pratt & Whitney engines in the newest A320 Neo aircraft ever since they were first inducted in February, 2016. Some other one in June. According to sources, the show cause notice by the aviation watchdog was issued to the airline's Chief Operating Officer and and its Head of Engineering. Indigo A320 at Mumbai on Sep 19th 2018, burst tyre on departure (Published on 19.09.2018) An Indigo Airbus A320-200, registration VT-IHR performing flight 6E-361 from Mumbai to Ahmedabad (India) with 185 people on board, departed Mumbai's runway 27 but burst a tyre on departure. IndiGo said its operation is run in even more stringent ways as prescribed.The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has ordered a safety audit of IndiGo, India's largest airline which operates the A-320 NEO (New Engine Option) aircraft which has faced numerous engine issues with its next-generation Pratt & Whitney engines. Those engines have been replaced and the aircraft are back in the air.Over the past 2 days, however, its Pratt & Whitney PW4500 series engines have reported issues related to vibration.
Over the past 18 months, IndiGo has had three instances of one of the two engines of the aircraft shutting down. Greg Hayes, chairman of Pratt & Whitney's parent UTC, responded to the issue in the post-earnings call in September, saying the company remains, "on track to certify a combustor upgrade to incorporate into new engines. Indigo's boroscopic tests (which are used to test defects or imperfections through visual inspection by a boroscope of aircraft engines and gas turbines, etc) detected these anomalies in 69 instances.
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IndiGo has not replied to a pointed query on whether these two officials have been issued a show cause.In a statement, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has said, ''We do detailed audit of all airlines at least once in a year. According to the airline, it had a market share of 43.4 per cent in February this year.The Airbus A-320 NEO is the latest variant of the European single-aisle jet which is one of the bestsellers in the history of civil aviation.