The Airbus A320 landed safely and IndiGo is sending a ferry flight to Karachi to take the passengers from there to Hyderabad.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has ordered an inquiry into the matter.
This is the second instance of an Indian carrier’s commercial flight to Karachi due to a suspected snag within a fortnight. On July 5, a SpiceJet Boeing 737 MAX from Delhi to Dubai carrying around 160 people had to be diverted to Karachi after a suspected fuel leak.
Regarding IndiGo’s diversion, the sources said: “The pilots received a snag warning signal for engine number 2. The Airbus bulletin states that unless this particular warning is repeated twice, an aircraft will be fired. Should not divert and proceed towards their destination. Though as a matter of utmost caution, the pilots decided to divert towards Karachi.”
An IndiGo spokesperson said: “IndiGo flight 6E-1406 from Sharjah to Hyderabad was diverted to Karachi. The pilot noticed a technical fault. Necessary procedures were followed and the aircraft was diverted towards Karachi as a precautionary measure. An additional flight is being sent to Karachi to take the passengers to Hyderabad.
According to flight tracking websites, the flight took off from Sharjah at 11.02 pm on Saturday night for Hyderabad with a journey of less than 4 hours. Following a snag warning, it was diverted to Karachi, where it landed at 2.15 a.m. (all time local) on Sunday.
This is the second case of a suspected engine failure with IndiGo amid an ongoing agitation by its aircraft maintenance technicians in Delhi and Hyderabad, who are protesting against poor pay. Technicians have also written to Airbus that the airline is reportedly not following maintenance procedures.
On 14 July, her Delhi-Vadodara flight was diverted to Jaipur as a precaution after an engine failure. The engines vibrated for a fraction of a second. The pilots decided to divert towards Jaipur as a precaution.
The Vistara Airbus A320 had to be towed to the terminal after a safe landing at the Delhi airport from Bangkok on July 5. After discharge of the runway, one engine was shut down for single-engine taxi. The second engine failed during a single-engine taxiing at the end of the taxiway. Thereafter, the aircraft was moved to the parking bay.
“In the past four months, at least one Pratt & Whitney and three CFM engines have malfunctioned. They all had different issues and were ordered to close. They are being closely examined in consultation with Original Equipment Manufacturers (PW & CFM),” senior DGCA officials probing these snags had told TOI recently.
Engine manufacturers say the “environment” of the Middle East and India – hot, dusty, sandy and humid (in India’s case) – is the hardest for their machines. The behavior of engines in cold and dry locations differs from those in harsh environments, he says, adding that the issue is being taken care of through technical means.
watch Engine fault on Indigo Sharjah-Hyderabad flight, diverted to Karachi