CFM Plans New Jet Engine Directive
April 20 2018 - 1:46PM
Dow Jones News
By Doug Cameron
The maker of the jet engine involved in a fatal accident on a
Southwest Airlines Co. jet this week plans to issue new inspection
guidance for carriers on Friday, a General Electric Co. spokesman
said in a statement.
CFM International, a joint venture between GE and Safran SA, is
expected to issue recommendations for users via a service bulletin
it said was being prepared before Tuesday's accident when an engine
exploded on a flight from New York to Dallas, killing one
passenger.
CFM said the inspection advice would supersede previous guidance
issued last year for maintaining fan blades on CFM56-7B engines,
the GE spokesman said.
Southwest Airlines contracts maintenance of the engines on its
700-plus fleet of Boeing Co. 737s to GE, Southwest Chief Executive
Gary Kelly said in a video statement late Thursday.
The airline has expedited checks on engines in its fleet in the
wake of Tuesday's accident. It aims to have the checks completed
within 30 days.
"CFM has about 40 people supporting the fan blade inspections
under way at Southwest," said a GE spokesman.
The new service bulletin was being developed before the
accident, said GE and a number of airlines involved in the work,
with inspections determined on how heavily the engines have been
used.
CFM declined to comment on whether the issuance of the bulletin
had been accelerated because of the Southwest accident.
Southwest is inspecting all of the CFM56-7B engines on its jets,
though it said the timing of non-routine examinations is usually
dictated by the manufacturer.
"GE provides the guidelines for the maintenance, inspections and
repairs over the life of the engines," said Mr. Kelly, adding that
Southwest conducts its own periodic inspections at a higher
frequency than recommended by CFM.
Write to Doug Cameron at doug.cameron@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 20, 2018 13:31 ET (17:31 GMT)
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