Investigations are continuing into the cause of a Pratt & Whitney PW1500G engine failure aboard a Swiss Airbus A220-300 on 23 December that forced the twinjet to make an emergency landing in Graz.
However, according to internal Swiss memos reported by German language news site AeroTelegraph, initial analysis shows the engine displayed a “previously unknown fault pattern”.
Operating as flight LX1885 from Bucharest in Romania to Zurich, the A220 (HB-JCD) was at 40,000ft when the engine “suddenly and unexpectedly failed”, according to the Swiss memos.
Both Pratt & Whitney and the safety authorities say there is no “fundamental, safety-relevant problem.”
The PW1500G has been removed from the aircraft and is being sent to the USA for further examination.
Swiss has previously experienced problems with the PW1500G, including two in-flight failures in 2019 related to the low-pressure compressor stage one rotor.
