India Grounds Airbus A320Neo Jets With Faulty Pratt Engines
- Local regulator steps in following three in-flight shutdowns
- Europe’s EASA restates ruling that operations can continue
A Pratt & Whitney engine on the wing of an Airbus A320neo.
Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg
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India took the drastic measure of grounding all Airbus SE narrow-body planes powered by the latest crop of Pratt & Whitney engines, removing the aircraft from the country’s skies after a series of in-flight incidents.
A320neos with even one Pratt engine featuring a seal found to cause vibrations are no longer allowed to fly, India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation said in a statement Monday. The unilateral action is at odds with the European Aviation Safety Agency, the primary regulator for Airbus planes, which repeated guidance that the jets are safe if they have a single affected turbine.