An Air Bridge Cargo 747-8F landed safely after an engine shutdown on take-off on 11 September, becoming the second such major malfunction of a General Electric GEnx-series turbofan within six weeks.
The problem in Shanghai occurred after an unknown malfunction caused damage to the low-pressure turbine, leading to a contained failure of the GEnx-2B engine, GE says. The aircraft took-off safely before returning to the airport.
GE is waiting to receive the engine in "a matter of days" to begin a tear-down inspection and investigate the cause of the failure.
Meanwhile, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is continuing to investigate another contained failure involving a GEnx-1B engine in ground testing in North Charleston, South Carolina. The GEnx-1B powers the Boeing 787.
That engine malfunction on 28 July was traced by the NTSB to a crack in the fan mid shaft, which connects the low pressure turbine to the fan and booster stages.
As the NTSB continues to look for a root cause of the fan mid shaft failure, GE has introduced a new process for coating shaft on the production line, the company says.
GE also has ordered ultrasound inspections on all 10 GEnx-1Bs and 108 GEnx-2Bs.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
