FAA Rejects Boeing 777 Engine-Ice Warnings

[question everything]

NOVEMBER 30, 2009

FAA Rejects Boeing 777 Engine-Ice Warnings
Regulator to Allow Jetliners to Keep Flying Through Early 2011 With Suspect Parts That Have Caused Rare Incidents

By ANDY PASZTOR
WSJ

Rejecting safety warnings from crash investigators and pilots, federal aviation regulators have decided to allow more than 130 Boeing Co. 777 jetliners to continue flying long-distance international trips through early 2011 with suspect parts that have caused engines in extremely rare instances to ice up and basically shut down in midair.

The Federal Aviation Administration's move, announced last week, caps months of debate in the international aviation community about the potential hazards of ice plugging up certain internal piping parts and restricting fuel flow to engines built by Rolls-Royce PLC, particularly during extended, high-altitude flights crossing polar regions. Citing the possibility of engine shutdowns or emergency descents, critics wanted at least some of the suspect parts replaced by the end of this year, and in any event no later than mid-2010.

One reason for the later regulatory deadline is the limited availability of replacement parts, according to industry officials. The FAA rejected recommendations by the National Transportation Safety Board to order affected Boeing 777 operators to swiftly replace parts on at least one of the two engines on each aircraft. But maintenance officials at AMR Corp.'s American Airlines unit, a major Boeing 777 operator, recently said they still are pushing to complete such a partial replacement effort as quickly as possible.

Boeing officials have said the fixes so far are adequate to assure safety, but the company continues to study the technical issues and consult with regulators to determine future steps. In releasing the long-awaited safety directive, the FAA determined that interim operational safeguards it previously imposed provide an adequate safety margin to put off permanent hardware fixes until January 2011.

Ice-induced shutdowns covered by the latest FAA regulation are extremely rare, with only three events recorded over millions of flights. But when the problem suddenly crops up—as it did on a British Airways PLC jet that crashed short of a runway while approaching London's Heathrow Airport in January 2008—the result can be catastrophic. The plane was substantially damaged, and 13 people aboard sustained serious or minor injuries. A Delta Air Lines Inc. jet suffered a brief, single-engine thrust reduction in November 2008 while cruising at 39,000 feet from Shanghai to Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748703300504574566252868677982.html (subscription)

Printed in The Wall Street Journal, page B3

[DFW]

1. Just what I needed to hear

I take 777s all the time. How encouraging :-(

[FarCenter]

2. It is mostly on polar routes when extreme cold is encountered

Part of the 777 fleet is powered by GE engines, which are not affected.

[DFW]

3. Actually, I seem to remember GE enginges on the planes I take

It's usually Air France to Boston, NYC, DC, or the West Coast. They go over Greenland, but
I seem to recall the GE logo on the engines.

[DaveinJapan]

4. Scary. I flight over the pole every time I visit home!

Is there any way to know what kind of engine your plane is using before the day of the flight!?