CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) - The National Transportation Safety Board made two urgent safety recommendations to the Federal Aviation Administration Friday regarding GE aviation engines.
The recommendations come after two incidents involving the engines, one of which occurred to a taxiing Boeing 787 at Charleston International on July 28.
According to NTSB officials, the investigation revealed mid-shaft cracks to GEnx-1B and GEnx-2B engines.
NTSB officials made the following recommendations:
(1) Issue an airworthiness directive to require, before further flight, the
immediate ultrasonic inspection of the fan midshaft in all GEnx-1B and -2B
engines that have not undergone inspection, and (2) Require repetitive
inspections of the fan midshaft at a sufficiently short interval that would
permit multiple inspections and detection of a crack before it could reach
critical length and the fan midshaft fractures.
"The parties to our investigation -- the FAA, GE and Boeing -- have taken
many important steps and additional efforts are in progress to ensure that the
fleet is inspected properly," said NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman in a Friday news release. "We are
issuing this recommendation today because of the potential for multiple engine
failures on a single aircraft and the urgent need for the FAA to act
immediately."
