Boeing was warned the engine on the BA plane that caught fire on a Las Vegas
runway was 'unsafe' four years ago
Warning advises it must be inspected every 48,000 hours or 6,000 flights -
which BA says it complied with
The Federal Aviation Authority found that the General Electric engine, a
GE90-85B, had an ‘unsafe condition’ following an investigation.
They discovered the compressor could disintegrate and lead to an explosion that
would propel debris at such a high velocity it would endanger the plane, The
Daily Beast reported.
The plane’s engine exploded in precisely the way FAA had warned could happen
and caused ‘uncontained engine failure and damage to the airplane’.
Denial: When the warning was issued, both Boeing and General Electric objected
to the ‘unsafe condition’ warning and tried to have it removed, but in the
final ruling in June 2011, the FAA retained the wording
Solution: In the Airworthiness Directive, the FAA ruled that airlines must
inspect the engine every 48,000 flight hours or 6,000 flights. As long as this
was done, the FAA said there would be no risk
General Electric stressed that the version on the BA plane was a different
version to that mentioned in the FAA warning.
The firm said in a statement: ‘The GE90-85B had two different configurations to
the compressor spool. The original compressor spool was involved in the BA
event and the later compressor spool configuration is referenced in the FAA AD
cited in the story.
‘The AD does not relate at all to the compressor used in question in the BA
event. The FAA AD refers to inspecting a weld that doesn’t exist in the
original spool configuration.
‘The AD was essentially a modification to the operating manual. It’s simply an
issue of two configurations.'
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3234999/Boeing-warned-engine-BA-plane-caught-fire-Las-Vegas-runway-unsafe-four-years-ago.html
Gerry wrote:
I wonder if the version with the weld is still flying?
If the plane had been airborne when the engine exploded, could it have managed
to circle and land?
It would seem that airflow and onboard fire extinguishers might have put out
the fire if it could remain airborne.
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