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NTSB Wants Boeing 777 Engine Redesigned
Posted on Mar 12, 2009
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued a safety warning for Boeing 777s powered by Rolls-Royce engines. The urgent warning was issued because two of the 777's have lost power during flights over the past year. One crashed while landing at Heathrow Airport in London, England.
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer on seattlepi.newssource.com reported that there are approximately 230 of the Jets in service with different commercial airlines around the world. Each of the jumbo jets can carry up to 350 passengers.
The NTSB wants the Rolls-Royce engine to be redesigned. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) would have to issue an order to force the redesign. At this point the FAA has not taken a position on the issue.
The FAA has recently issued an airworthiness directive which requires operators of 777's with Rolls-Royce engines to take preventive steps to lessen the chances that the engines will lose power in flight. Any redesign or recertification of the engine would be a lengthy process should the FAA decide to issue such a directive.
Rolls-Royse has indicated that they have already started redesigning the engines. They expect the new engine to be completely redesigned within the next 12 months.
The problem has been reported to be traced to ice clogging the engine's fuel lines.
The NTSB said that the procedures developed by Boeing and the FAA which are in an effort to reduce the risk of the engines losing power in cold conditions,, are simply not sufficient. Because the proscribed procedure requires a descent, the aircraft is exposed to other know risks of hazards. These risks include, that the aircraft may be exposed to rising terrain or hazardous weather or may encounter the inability to achieve the needed thrust during critical phases of flight such as going missed approach. The NTSB has determined that the only safe direction to take is to redesign the engine and specifically the problems with the fuel lines.
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