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PHOTO FILE: An Air France Airbus A380 aircraft is preparing to land at Charles de Gaulle airport in Roissy, near Paris, on April 28, 2018. REUTERS / Christian Hartmann
August 21, 2019
By Tim Hepher
LONDON (Reuters) – Investigators investigating the explosion of an Air France A380 engine in 2017 are investigating the possibility of a manufacturing defect. A cracked piece recently recovered as part of an operation likely to trigger urgent checks on dozens of Airbus superjumbos, said specialists.
A two-year-old investigation into the flying explosion over Greenland, which left the plane carrying more than 500 unmanned passengers to the front, tipped toward the "fan hub" "recently restored, said people.
The titanium alloy part is the centerpiece of a 3-meter-wide fan on engines built for the world's largest US-based Engine Alliance-owned airliner owned by General Electric.
He had been buried in the Greenland pack ice since September 2017 when one of the four engines of Flight 66 of Air France suddenly disintegrated between Paris and Los Angeles. It was enjoyed on the ice in June after a high-tech aerial radar search.
Confirming the focus of the probe after Reuters announced plans for inspections, the French Air Accidents Agency BEA announced that it had discovered a "fatigue crack under the surface" on the recovered part and that the engine manufacturer was preparing controls.
Persons familiar with the case associate the crack with alleged manufacturing defect and claim that the controls – to be performed urgently on engines having made a number of flights – will affect dozens of double-decker jets.
People said the suspicious party was made in the name of the Pratt & Whitney consortium member, who declined to comment.
Engine Alliance is one of two Airbus A380 engine suppliers competing with Britain's Rolls-Royce
Its engines power a total of 152 aircraft, a little over 60% of the 237 A380s in service.
In addition to Air France, other airlines operating the A380 and Engine Alliance include Emirates, Dubai Airways, Qatar Airways, Etihad, based in Abu Dhabi, and Korean Air.
The checks will include putting some aircraft out of service outside of their usual maintenance schedules, a source said.
Investigations have not been completed and may address other features such as loads or physical forces involved. Experts say that air accidents are rarely caused by isolated factors.
European Airbus
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No one was injured during the September 2017 incident, during which the Air France superjumbo was safely diverted to Goose Bay in Canada.
Although uncommon, uncontained engine failures, in which fuselage-piercing shrapnel leave a motor at extremely high speeds, automatically trigger an alarm.
These checks come weeks after 30 years have passed since an engine failure left a DC-10 United Airlines virtually unchecked, which led to the death of 111 of the 296 passengers on board during the day. an attempt to land at Sioux City, Iowa.
US investigators cited a defective titanium alloy part and weak inspection procedures, while welcoming the "highly commendable" performance of the crew of Flight 232.
The July 1989 accident improved the manufacturing methods of the titanium alloy. Experts say hidden internal defects in such rooms are unusual but remain difficult to detect.
Titanium alloy is widely used in the aerospace industry, which is the largest customer of the metal because of its resistance to the weight of each part and its ability to withstand high temperatures.
(Report by Tim Hepher, edited by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Elaine Hardcastle)
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