Engine fault grounds 9 Kingfisher jets

Mumbai: Two of India’s leading private carriers have had problems in the recent past with a widely-used engine fitted on Airbus aircraft resulting in stepped-up spending on maintenance, and in one case, idling of a part of its fleet.
Kingfisher, India’s second-largest carrier by market share, has grounded 12 of its aircraft out of a total fleet of 69, while IndiGo, a low-cost carrier, says problems it had earlier faced have now been fixed. The engine, manufactured by a JV between four aviation companies, including Pratt & Whitney and Rolls Royce, is fitted on aircraft belonging to the Airbus A320 family.
The Vijay Mallya-owned airline confirmed to ET that it is facing a problem with the engine, known as V2500 A-5, and has had to ground some of its aircraft.
“Some IAE V2500 engines fitted on the narrow-body fleet of Kingfisher Airlines have experienced technical issues with the HPC stage 3-8 drum assembly, amongst other things. ...A total of nine aircraft were grounded of which three are expected to re-enter service in a span of two weeks once their engines are returned after overhaul,” the spokesman for Kingfisher said.
17/08/10 Manisha Singhal/Economic Times

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Categories: Indigo Airlines Aug 2010, Kingfisher Aug 2010, Safety Aug 2010