GoAir's A320 neo aircraft, powered by Pratt & Whitney engine, enroute to Lucknow was forced to return to the national capital last week following a warning of 'potential oil chip detection'.
P&W engine-powered A320 neo planes -- which are operated in the country by GoAir and IndiGo -- have been facing engine problems.
Sources said the aircraft had faced issues thrice in a span of two days -- February 14 and 15 -- related to reported oil chip detection.
When contacted, a GoAir spokesperson said the aircraft is presently in operation and that its engine had exhibited an "indication issue of intermittent nature".
"On February 15 while operating on Delhi-Lucknow sector, the aircraft returned to Delhi due to an indication for a potential oil chip. After arrival, the manufacturer's procedures to evaluate the potential presence of an oil chip were carried out. No oil chips were detected," the spokesperson said in a statement.
There was no immediate response to queries sent to Pratt & Whitney on the issue.
Sources said that the issue of oil chip detection came up twice on different flights of the same aircraft before the Lucknow flight returned to Delhi on February 15.
There was the problem during the Bangalore-Delhi flight on February 14 and again the next day while operating the Delhi-Mumbai flight, sources added.
According to GoAir, the same indication for a potential oil chip had occurred on February 14.
"As with any other indication on any vehicle, some indications are merely false sensor readings with no underlying real cause.
"The manufacturer's procedures are followed each time, and P&W is consulted actively. By our standard, DGCA is always kept informed," the statement said.
However, the airline did not mention about a similar warning during the Delhi-Mumbai flight on February 15.
A total of 45 A320 neos are there in the country. Out of them, 32 are with IndiGo and 13 are with GoAir.
Officials at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said the issue faced by GoAir was not related to P&W engine problems flagged by European aviation safety regulator EASA.
With regard to the GoAir Delhi-Lucknow flight issue, the officials said the snag was not due to bearing failure but on account of indication problem.
The defective harness has since been changed and the aircraft is operating scheduled flights, they added.
Earlier this month, EASA had issued an emergency airworthiness directive for A320 neo planes fitted with PW1100 engines having a particular serial number.
The European watchdog's directive came in the wake of instances of the engine's in-flight shut-downs and rejected take-offs involving A320 neo family planes.
Following that directive, IndiGo had grounded three A320 neo planes while GoAir had said that none of its plane "have two of these engines on the same aircraft".
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