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The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)’s urgent safety recommendation for engines of Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 Max narrow-body passenger jets is likely of concern to Indian carriers as IndiGo, Air India, Akasa and SpiceJet that fly these variants.
In a rare advisory, the NTSB on Wednesday flagged the possibility of smoke entering the cockpit or cabin of airplanes equipped with CFM International LEAP-1B engines and issued additional recommendations to evaluate the potential for the same issue with LEAP-1A and -1C engines. CFM LEAP engines are used on variants of Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 Max narrow-body passenger jets.
As far as Indian carriers are concerned, IndiGo and Air India both have A320neos in their fleet. The data shows that IndiGo has 184 A320neos while Air India has 94. Akasa’s entire fleet of 30 aircraft is B737 Max while SpiceJet has seven B737 Max with only one operational. IndiGo has leased six B737 Max from the Qatar Airways last year and they fly on international routes.
Queries have been sent to concerned Indian airlines but response is awaited.
This comes after Air India flight AI-171 crashed and investigations are exploring the possibility of twin engine failure of the B787-8 Dreamliner aircraft as the cause of the fatal crash that killed 241 people on board on June 12.
The NTSB found that the engine load reduction device, or LRD, a safety feature designed to reduce the severity of vibrations transmitted from a damaged engine to the airframe, can result in damage to the engine oil system. Such a condition can allow smoke from hot oil to enter the ventilation system and ultimately the cockpit or passenger cabin.
The recommendations stem from the NTSB’s investigation into a December 2023 incident in which smoke entered the airplane after a bird was ingested into the left engine of a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-8 shortly after departing New Orleans, Louisiana. The flight deck filled with what the crew described as “acrid white smoke” so thick that the captain had difficulty seeing the instrument panel. The crew donned masks, were able to clear the smoke, and landed the airplane back in New Orleans. None of the crew or passengers were injured.
A similar engine damage event occurred in March 2023 on another Southwest flight when vapor fog filled the passenger cabin after birds were ingested into the right engine shortly after departing Havana, Cuba. The flight crew declared an emergency and returned to the departure airport without further incident.
Concerned that flight crews operating these airplanes may not be fully aware of the potential hazard of an LRD smoke-related event along with the appropriate mitigation actions, the NTSB issued an urgent safety recommendation to the Federal Aviation Administration asking the agency to ensure that operators inform flight crews of airplanes equipped with the affected engines.
Boeing has revised flight manuals for pilots detailing the steps to take to prevent smoke from entering the cockpit or cabin following an LRD activation.
