Pratt & Whitney Engines on Hundreds of Airbus Jets Recalled for Inspection
Hundreds of Airbus jetliners will require inspections after a new problem with their Pratt & Whitney engines, adding another potential airline disruption during busy summer travel. Pratt parent RTX said recently discovered contamination in the metal used to make some engine parts required the planes to be inspected to check if repairs were required. The contamination could cause cracks to form in critical engine parts.
The new problem exacerbates the shortage of new, fuel-efficient engines that has sidelined dozens of Airbus and Boeing jetliners worldwide after parts wore out faster than expected. It wasn’t immediately clear how the inspections might disrupt airline operations and flights for passengers if any affected Airbus jets need to be temporarily pulled from service. U.S.
airlines that have operated the affected engines include JetBlue Airways, Spirit Airlines and Hawaiian, according to aviation data tracker Ascend by Cirium. RTX had hoped by the end of the year to more than halve the 8% of the fleet that is grounded by existing durability problems. “This is going to throw that out the window," said RTX Chief Executive Greg Hayes.
Hayes said he learned of the new problem on July 14, and the decision to accelerate inspections was made on July 18, triggering calls to customers. “If we didn’t address this, there was risk out there," he said. “You can imagine what the calls were like." Pratt & Whitney’s Geared Turbofan, or GTF, engine has required more maintenance than expected since it was introduced in 2015, RTX said.
Read more on livemint.com
