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NTSB to Rolls Royce: Redesign Trent 800 series engines
Eric Torbenson
Here's our story about the NTSB recommendation that affects engines used on American Airlines Inc. Boeing 777s.
The National Transportation Safety Board has required aircraft engine maker Rolls Royce to redesign its Trent 800 series engines -- the kind used on Fort Worth-based American Airlines Inc.'s Boeing 777 aircraft -- after investigating incidents on two aircraft equipped with them.
Rolls Royce must redesign the part of the engine regulating ice buildup, and carriers must have the new fixes on its planes within six months of the redesign being approved, the recommendation said. Investigations into a British Airways 777 flight that crashed short of a runway in London and a Delta Air Lines 777 flight that had engine problems over Montana have pointed at the problem of ice build-up, the board said.
American flies 47 777s as of the end of end of 2008, all with Rolls Royce Trent engines. American spokesman Tim Smith said the carrier would comply with any directives sent by the Federal Aviation Administration based on the NTSB recommendations to Rolls Royce. The 777s are the carrier's largest aircraft, holding as many as 245 seats and are the workhorses of its international flying. American has 616 total jets, excluding those flown by its regional affiliates.
"With two of these rollback events occurring within a year, we believe that there is a high probability of something similar happening again," said NTSB acting chairman Mark V. Rosenker in a statement released Wednesday afternoon. "We are encouraged to see that Rolls-Royce is already working on a redesign" and that the FAA and its European counterpart will work together to oversee the process.
The redesign work will focus on the engine fuel/oil heat exchanger that appeared to accumulate ice, reducing engine thrust. Both engines on the British Airways flight appeared to lose thrust, though the investigation continues on that incident. The Delta flight landed in Atlanta without incident after flying from Shanghai.
Eric Torbenson
Here's our story about the NTSB recommendation that affects engines used on American Airlines Inc. Boeing 777s.
The National Transportation Safety Board has required aircraft engine maker Rolls Royce to redesign its Trent 800 series engines -- the kind used on Fort Worth-based American Airlines Inc.'s Boeing 777 aircraft -- after investigating incidents on two aircraft equipped with them.
Rolls Royce must redesign the part of the engine regulating ice buildup, and carriers must have the new fixes on its planes within six months of the redesign being approved, the recommendation said. Investigations into a British Airways 777 flight that crashed short of a runway in London and a Delta Air Lines 777 flight that had engine problems over Montana have pointed at the problem of ice build-up, the board said.
American flies 47 777s as of the end of end of 2008, all with Rolls Royce Trent engines. American spokesman Tim Smith said the carrier would comply with any directives sent by the Federal Aviation Administration based on the NTSB recommendations to Rolls Royce. The 777s are the carrier's largest aircraft, holding as many as 245 seats and are the workhorses of its international flying. American has 616 total jets, excluding those flown by its regional affiliates.
"With two of these rollback events occurring within a year, we believe that there is a high probability of something similar happening again," said NTSB acting chairman Mark V. Rosenker in a statement released Wednesday afternoon. "We are encouraged to see that Rolls-Royce is already working on a redesign" and that the FAA and its European counterpart will work together to oversee the process.
The redesign work will focus on the engine fuel/oil heat exchanger that appeared to accumulate ice, reducing engine thrust. Both engines on the British Airways flight appeared to lose thrust, though the investigation continues on that incident. The Delta flight landed in Atlanta without incident after flying from Shanghai.
