Although pilots on the Japan Airlines flight from Vancouver to Tokyo shut down the engine, the incident was not deemed serious because the plane’s other engine, and older version of the same model, was not susceptible to the problem.
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Boeing Co. (NYSE:BA) 787 Dreamliner jets carrying the latest General Electric engines have come under Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) scrutiny, after an engine shut down at 20,000 feet due to internal ice accumulation, with pilots unable to restart the engine in-flight.The order applies to GEnx-1B engines with Performance Improvement Package 2, the companies said.
The Dreamliner is constructed largely of advanced lightweight carbon-fiber reinforced composite materials that reduce fuel use and it is Boeing’s most sophisticated passenger plane.
Airlines that use the planes must fix or replace at least one of the engines on all affected 787 Dreamliners within five months.
However, other countries, which typically follow the FAA’s regulations, are also expected to comply.
GE and Boeing have been investigating the issue and are working with FAA to resolve it, Boeing spokesman Doug Alder said in an e-mailed statement. According to the FAA document, about 176 Dreamliners for 29 airlines could be affected worldwide.
The FAA directive concerns only the 43 planes operated by US-based airlines.
The modification takes about 16 hours and involves grinding down the engine casing by about one-tenth of an inch to create more space for the fan blades and prevent rubbing, GE said.
“Work mandated by the AD is already well under way with more than 40 engines complete”, he said, referring to the FAA’s airworthiness directive.
As per the latest FAA mandate, airlines are required to issue revised flying instructions to pilots within seven days, which should cover steps on how to prevent the icing while flying at low altitudes.
The GEnx, a high-efficiency engine developed for wide-body aircraft, has faced earlier issues with icing.
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Early that year, several planes experienced problems with batteries overheating that caused a fire on one aircraft. The company also makes power plants for narrow-body aircraft through its CFM International joint venture with Safran SA.
