Airlines check some Boeing 737 engines after fatal Southwest accident
PARIS: US Federal Aviation Administration said on Wednesday that it would order the inspection of 220 jet engines after investigators said a broken fan blade was the cause of an engine explosion on a Southwest Airlines flight that shattered a window and killed a passenger.
The order, called an air-worthiness directive, would require an ultrasonic inspection within the next six months of the fan blades on all CFM56-7B engines that have accrued a certain number of takeoffs.
Global airlines, too, began inspecting some Boeing 737 engines on Wednesday.
Engine-maker CFM says there are more than 8,000 of its CFM56-7B engines in operation on Boeing 737 passenger jets.
Although no cause has been ruled out, the first fatal US airline accident since 2009 is expected to focus attention on metal fatigue in engine accidents, which are rare.
An early review of Tuesday's failed Southwest engine found preliminary evidence of metal fatigue where a fan blade had broken off, Mr Robert Sumwalt, chairman of the US National Transportation Safety Board, told reporters.
"We are very concerned," Mr Sumwalt said, referring to the overall challenge of detecting slow-developing metal fatigue.
Completing the latest investigation will take about 12 to 15 months, he said.
Korean Air, Japan Airlines, Ireland's Ryanair and Canada's WestJet all said they are carrying out checks. Not all airlines operating 737s are affected. - REUTERS
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