THE US AIR FORCE has grounded all General Electric (GE) F110-129-powered Lockheed F-16s following the non-fatal crash on an F-16D in Belgium on 13 January. The front fan from the engine of the crashed aircraft has been returned to GE for testing.
The precautionary stand-down is the third to involve the F110 since October 1994, and affects some 225 engines powering the latest block 50 F-16C/Ds.
Sources say that the fan on the crashed F-16 had been replaced and the new fan had accumulated less than 200h before the accident.
The possibility of the damage being caused by a foreign object is being investigated.
Source: Flight International
