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GE, Boeing Hunt for Defective Engine Parts
The Wall Street Journal 05/16/2013
Authors: Andy Pasztor and Jon Ostrower
(Copyright (c) 2010, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)







An engine-manufacturing defect may affect more than 70 of Boeing Co.'s 777 extended-range jets equipped with General Electric Co. engines, the companies disclosed Wednesday.

The defect could lead to an engine failure and pose a potential safety issue if the planes are forced to fly long distances over water on a single engine.


In response to questions, the engine-maker said it issued a pair of service bulletins on Tuesday urging airlines to replace at least one of two suspect gearboxes on 26 of the planes currently in service. Another 34 planes have the suspect part attached to one engine.


The bulletins, which aren't mandatory but usually are followed by airlines, call for the work to be done in five days.


American Airlines is the only U.S. carrier which operates models affected by the alert.


A spokeswoman for American Airlines parent AMR Corp., which operates six new 777-300ER aircraft, says it expects to perform the inspection and modification on four of its 777 jets in New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and in Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. The airline didn't expect any impact to its customers and anticipated the work would be completed by Sunday.


The Federal Aviation Administration, which typically issues mandatory safety directives in such cases, didn't have an immediate comment.


GE said it acted following a pair of in-flight incidents, including one last week, in which one of the two engines on each plane had to be shut down due to gears separating inside the suspect devices. The gearboxes are used to transfer energy from the engine's core to provide power to key aircraft systems.


The suspect parts are installed on Boeing 777-300ER, 777-200LR and 777 freighter versions. Boeing has delivered 531 of the longer-range 777s as of April 20, and they are the backbone of the company's commercial unit, which at current production rates account for some 100 aircraft deliveries a year. GE is the exclusive engine provider for these models.


In addition to planes already in service, Boeing said the suspect parts also are installed on 14 aircraft in production or waiting to be delivered from the plane maker's factory in Everett, Wash. A Boeing spokeswoman said, "we don't expect any substantial delays to deliveries."


In a statement, GE said 118 gearboxes manufactured between September 2012 and March 2013 may be affected. The immediate focus of safety efforts is to ensure that no plane has more than one of the suspect parts.


The gearboxes were manufactured by Italian supplier Avio SpA, which GE announced it was acquiring in December. The deal, valued at more than $4 billion, hasn't yet been completed.


GE and Boeing also are working to finish enhanced inspection procedures for the longer term.


GE said it is "continuing to investigate the root cause" of the problems, and preliminary indications are that they may stem from defective material.


The company added it is working closely with Boeing and the FAA "on this aggressive fleet action."