AZAL says no defect found after 787 Dreamliner engine fails

The serial number of General Electric engines installed in AZAL’s two Boeing 787 Dreamliner is out of category of technically-defected engines. However, AZAL’s engineers and technical staff is conducting consultations with General Electric and Boeing companies.

Airlines flying Boeing Co.’s 787 Dreamliner jets with the latest General Electric Co. engines were ordered to repair them, or swap out at least one with an older model, in an urgent safety directive issued after an in-flight failure.

A GEnx-1B PIP2, part of a family of engines plagued by issues related to icing, suffered "substantial damage” in the Jan. 29 incident, when ice on the fan blades broke loose, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said in an order published Friday in the Federal Register.

"The potential for common cause failure of both engines in flight is an urgent safety issue,” the Federal Aviation Administration  said in its order.

The latest incident occurred at 6,096 meters altitude, which was lower than previous icing issues encountered by the engine model.

Airlines operating 787s with GE engines have 150 days to make sure that they have made repairs or have installed at least one older version of the GEnx engine on each plane so that they won’t risk losing power in both, the FAA said. The older GEnx model isn’t as susceptible to damage from icing.

Airlines must also instruct pilots within seven days how to prevent engine icing while flying above 12,500 feet. When pilots suspect ice may be forming, they have to momentarily add power to each engine once every five minutes, the FAA said.

There are 176 aircraft operated by 29 airlines around the world that may be susceptible, according to the FAA. GE plans to address the issue by September. Engines in production also are being altered.