BRITISH AIRWAYS grounded two of its three Boeing 777s on 31 January, after tears were discovered in kiss seals on their engine thrust-reversers. The affected seals are between the thrust-reverser cowl and the pre-cooler inlet.
The grounding comes as General Electric and Boeing received clearance from the US Federal Aviation Administration to begin extended-range twin-operations testing of the GE90-powered aircraft.
"We learned that the airflow seals were deteriorating more quickly than expected," says Boeing, which "...has experts working with BA to resolve this issue".
The manufacturer adds that the problem was detected during the flight test programme when the seals "...didn't have the life cycle we expected". Boeing and the FAA have asked BA to inspect the seals every 250 flight hours. BA was expecting to return the aircraft to service by 5 February.
Pratt & Whitney has advised operators of certain PW4000 engines to replace the Hamilton Standard electronic engine controls in their engines, after vibration tests resulted in a capacitor "working its way loose". o
Source: Flight International
