‘Enormous stress’ on turbine blade likely caused Leap-1A failure on IndiGo A321neo

Investigators in India have identified that a high-pressure turbine blade giving way - due to “enormous stress” - was likely the cause of an engine failure on an IndiGo Airbus A321neo. According to the final investigation report from the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the incident on 10 June 2023 has also prompted CFM to redesign the Stage 1 high-pressure turbine blade on the Leap-1A, which “demonstrated improved durability during production testing”, and will be retrofitted globally. The IndiGo jet (VT-ILN) was operating flight 6E2789 from Delhi to Chennai when the incident occurred just after take off. Six minutes after take-off and as the aircraft was climbing, the flight crew heard a loud bang, then were notified that the No.1 engine had stalled before it failed. The crew transmitted a ‘pan pan’ urgency message and shut down the No. 1 engine. They subsequently performed a single-engine landing at Delhi airport, 30min after departure. There was no evidence of external fire or smoke from the aircraft, nor were any injuries sustained among the 233 passengers and seven crew members. Post-flight engine inspections found “metal particles” in the exhaust of the Leap-1A engine. Boroscope inspections also showed that the high-pressure turbine stage 1 and 2 blades, as well as the low-pressure turbine blades, were badly damaged.<br/>