After bird strike, GoAir crew shut unaffected aircraft engine in June 2017: Probe report

A GoAir cockpit crew shut the wrong engine of an aircraft that experienced high vibration after a bird strike in June 2017, according to an investigation report made public by aviation regulator DGCA.

On June 21, 2017, a GoAir plane flying from the national capital to Mumbai turned back as it suffered bird strike. The plane, which had 156 passengers, landed "uneventfully" at the airport here.

The official probe report has concluded that the incident was caused by incorrect identification of engine affected with high vibration, lack of situational awareness and other factors.

During take-off, the aircraft -- an A320 -- encountered bird strike on the second engine.

According to the report, while the cockpit crew noticed abnormal sound and vibrations, the pilot-in-command decided to continue for take-off probably wanting to investigate the problem after getting airborne.

"After take-off, the situation was incorrectly assessed and the engine 1 (unaffected engine) was shut down... crew realised their mistake and attempted to start engine 1 but encountered start valve fault," it said.

The plane turned back and landed in the second approach at the Delhi airport.

"Incident was caused by incorrect identification of engine affected with high vibration followed by non-adherence to recommended procedures, lack of situational awareness, poor Cockpit Resource Management and poor handling of aircraft during emergency subsequent to bird strike," the report said.

The report, dated November 5, 2018, has been put out on the website of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).