FAA Orders A380 Engine Inspections After Midair Failure, Emergency Landing

nbcnews.com

by ALASTAIR JAMIESON

OCT 13 2017, 5:24 AM ET

The Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday ordered visual inspections of some Airbus A380 superjumbo engines after one blew apart on a Los Angeles-bound flight last month.

It issued an emergency airworthiness directive requiring owners and operators of Engine Alliance GP7200 series engines to visually inspect the engines and remove the fan hub if defects are found. The engines are manufactured by a 50-50 joint venture between General Electric and Pratt & Whitney.

A380 planes powered by the rival Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine are not affected by the order…….Read rest of article: HERE

Update 6 October—Debris found in Greenland

Debris from AF66 in front of the Air Greenland helicopter used to find it. Photo courtesy BEA

The BEA reports that an Air Greenland helicopter crew was able to locate and collect multiple pieces of debris from the damaged engine 150 kilometers south-east of the town of Paamiut in Greenland. The debris has been provided to the Danish Accident Investigation Office and is being forwarded to the BEA.

The Damage

The damaged #4 engine on F-HPJE. Photo courtesy BEA

The A380’s number 4 engine suffered a failure that resulted in the fan and inlet cowling separating from the rest of the engine. The aircraft also sustained damage to the leading edge of the wing. Upon landing, Goose Bay ARFF reported that there was also a leak of hydraulic fluid, but no fuel leak.

Flight Data

AF66 diverted to Goose Bay after the number 4 engine failed

The failure occurred while en route at 37,000 feet (FL370) to Los Angeles over Greenland. The aircraft began its descent at 13:51 UTC about 80 km northwest of Narsarsuaq, Greenland. It landed in Goose Bay at 15:42 UTC.

Altitude and speed graph of AF66

AF66 Data

— Full flight playback
— Downloadable CSV and KML files

The Aircraft

AF66 was operated by F-HPJE, an Airbus A380-861 powered by four Engine Alliance GP7200 engines. F-HPJE first flew in 2010 and was delivered to Air France 17 May 2011.

Source: flightradar24.com

GP7200 ENGINE

GP7200 - enelaire.mx

The GP7200 is derived from two of the most successful wide body engine programs in aviation history.

The Engine Alliance, a 50/50 joint venture between General Electric Aviation and Pratt & Whitney, was established in 1996 to develop, manufacture, sell and support a family of advanced technology engines for new high-capacity, long-range aircraft.

The result is the GP7200, a twin spool axial flow turbofan that delivers 70,000 pounds of thrust for the Airbus A380.

The GP7200 is derived from two of the most successful wide body engine programs in aviation history — the PW4000 and GE90 families. The engine benefits from each programs’ latest proven technologies and incorporates lessons learned from more than 25 million flight hours of safe operation on both engines.

The GP7200 entered service in 2008 with the world's largest A380 fleet, Emirates. The first GP7200-powered A380 was delivered to Air France in 2009. Since entering service, the GP7200 has achieved a 99.9 percent departure reliability rating. 

SPECS

• Fan Tip Diameter: 116 In
• Length, Flange To Flange: 187 In
• Takeoff Thrust: 70,000 Lb
• Flat Rated Temperature: 86°F
• Bypass Ratio: 8.8
• Overall Pressure Ratio
  (Takeoff): 36.1

ENGINE MODELS

• GP7270
• GP7277

Source: pw.utc.com

GLOBALLY, FIVE AIRLINES OPERATE AIRBUS A380 AIRCRAFT THAT ARE POWERED BY THE GP7200 ENGINES – MAINLY THE GULF CARRIERS

The Airbus A380 is powered by two types of engines – the GP7200 engine which is built by Engine Alliance which is a joint venture between General Electric GE:US and Pratt & Whitney (which is owned by United Technologies UTX:US) and the Trent 900 engine which is built by Rolls-Royce RR/:LN).

GP7200 engines account for 60% of the global market share of engines that power the Airbus A380 aircraft currently in service. This is largely because Emirates, which is the largest operator of Airbus A380 aircraft with 98 of them currently in service, chose the GP7200 engines to power 92% of its A380s.

Etihad (10 A380s) and Qatar Airways (8 A380s) also operate Airbus A380 aircraft that are powered by the GP7200 engines. Other than the Gulf carriers, only Air France-KLM AF:FP (10 A380s) and Korean Air 003490:KS (10 A380s) have chosen to power their Airbus A380 aircraft with the GP7200 engines.

Chart: Global market share of engine types used to power the Airbus A380 aircraft

TRENT 900 ENGINES ARE MORE POPULAR AMONG THE REST OF THE AIRLINES, MOSTLY ASIA PACIFIC CARRIERS – TRENT WAS CHOSEN BY 8 OUT OF THE 13 AIRLINES THAT OPERATE THE A380 AIRCRAFT GLOBALLY

The remaining 8 out of the 13 airlines that operate the 215 Airbus A380 aircraft that are currently in service globally have chosen to power them with Rolls-Royce’s Trent 900 engines. These include Singapore Airlines SIA:SP (which operates 18 Airbus A380s), Lufthansa LHA:GR (14 A380s), British Airways IAG:LN (12 A380s), Qantas QAN:AU (12 A380s), Asiana 020560:KS (6 A380s), Malaysia Airlines (6 A380s), Thai Airways THAI:TB (6 A380s) and China Southern Airlines 1055:HK (5 A380s).

Chart: List of airlines operating the Airbus A380 aircraft globally and their choice of engine types

Source: crucialperspective.com