AVI-LD GOAIR-FLIGHT

A Pratt & Whitney-engine powered

A320neo plane of GoAir returned to the city due to "high

engine vibrations" after an hour of its take-off for Delhi

Thursday, a source said.

The plane, which had 168 passengers on board, made a

safe emergency landing at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj

International Airport here at 12.15 pm, he said

When contacted, a GoAir spokesperson said its flight

G8319 made a turn back to Mumbai due to a "technical glitch",

which was later rectified.

The aircraft is back into operations, after being

grounded for a brief period, he said.

"GoAir flight G8319 departed for Delhi from the Mumbai

airport at 10.17 am. However, mid-air, one of the aircraft

engines experienced high vibrations, forcing the pilot to seek

ATC's permission to return to Mumbai," the source said.

The aircraft safely landed back at the airport here

under emergency conditions at 12.15 pm, the source added.

"Flight G8 319 (Mumbai-Delhi) returned to Mumbai after

the take-off due to a technical glitch. Post-normal landing,

all passengers were immediately accommodated on to another

aircraft for their journey to Delhi," GoAir said in a

statement.

There were 168 passengers on board the A320neo plane,

the spokesperson said.

The crew operated within the established guidelines to

provide for safe travel, it said adding the (snag)

rectification work was in progress.

Replying to a PTI query on this issue, the engine

maker said, "Pratt & Whitney is working closely with GoAir to

address the issue that occurred on the flight G8 319 operating

from MumbaiDelhi."

In a separate statement, P&W also clarified that based

on inspections completed to date, root cause (for grounding of

GoAir planes) has not been attributed to the engines.

"Pratt & Whitney understands that GoAir reports some

grounded A320Neo aircraft. Based on inspections completed to

date, root cause has not been attributed to the engines. We

have no safety concerns with the GTF powered fleet, including

at GoAir. We will continue to support GoAir in their

investigations," the statement said.

Thursday's incident is the first one involving a P&W

jet engine experiencing in-flight vibrations after the

government gave a clean chit to these engines on following a

stakeholders meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Significantly, clearance to the P&W engines came a day

after the US engine maker announced extending sponsorship for

an aviation event being hosted jointly by the civil aviation

and commerce ministries, industry lobby Ficci and Airports

Authority of India.

The Twitter handle of Global Aviation Summit, which is

to be held in the city on January 15-16, had posted on January

7, "We are proud to welcome on board @prattandwhitney as the

silver sponsor for #GAvS2019. Your expertise in world-class

service operations and global presence have helped aviation

reach greater heights." PTI IAS

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(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)