Aero-engine maker CFM International said airlines are “aggressively responding” to safety regulator directives to inspect CFM56-7B engines, the type that exploded on a Southwest Airlines aircraft last week, causing one fatality.

Last Friday’s emergency airworthiness directives from the US Federal Aviation Administration and European Aviation Safety Agency require ultrasonic inspections on CFM56-7B engine blades with more than 30,000 cycles since new. A cycle comprises start up, take-off, landing and shut down.

CFM said more than 60 percent of the 680 engines worldwide that are subject to the directives have been inspected. The remaining inspections must be completed by May 10.

The company is also recommending that operators inspect fan blades with more than 20,000 cycles by the end of August, and inspections of all other fan blades should be carried out when they reach 20,000 cycles.

CFM says there are around 14,000 CFM56-7B engines in operation around the world.

Southwest Airlines flight WN1380, a Boeing 737-700 carrying 143 passengers and five crew, was on a flight from New York’s La Guardia airport to Dallas Love Field when the left engine exploded, sending parts into the aircraft, causing cabin depressurisation.

One passenger died after she was partially sucked out of the cabin as it depressurised. Passengers were able to grab the woman and pull her back into the cabin, but she died of her injuries. </s> The notification comes from the FAA and will affect roughly 352 engines administered by U.S. operators.

Following the fatal engine failure that led to the mid-air accident of Southwest Flight 1380 earlier this week, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has demanded a massive engine inspection, CNBC reports.

The FAA has issued an Emergency Airworthiness Directive (EAD) on Friday, April 20, regarding CFM56-7B engines — the same engine type on the Boeing 737 airplane involved in the Southwest accident on Tuesday, April 17.

According to the directive, airline operators are required to perform an inspection of the CFM56-7B engine fan blades, which in the case of Flight 1380, exploded at 32,000 feet, killing one passenger and forcing the Southwest Airlines airplane to make an emergency landing in Philadelphia.

“We are issuing this [airworthiness directive] because we evaluated all the relevant information and determined the unsafe condition described previously is likely to exist or develop in other products of the same type design,” notified the FAA.

The EAD applies to certain CFM56-7B engines, specifically those that have been used for more than 30,000 total cycles. A cycle is a unit measure for airplane use and runs from take-off to shut down after landing, CNBC notes.

Furthermore, the directive states that operators must complete this verification within 20 days.

The EAD comes after the CFM56-7B engine manufacturer, CFM International, released a service bulletin calling for more rigid testing of this type of engine, the FAA explained.

The airline regulator also mentioned that data from the investigation on Boeing 737 engine failure factored into Friday’s emergency directive.

The CFM bulletin, also issued on Friday, recommends that the CFM56-7B fan blades be examined with an ultrasonic probe — a procedure that lasts for four hours per each of the airplanes’ engines and which can be performed without removing the engines from the aircrafts’ wings.

The reason why CFM is suggesting that operators conduct the CFM56-7B engine verifications via ultrasonic probe is that the fan blades might hide tiny cracks, which would not be detected with the naked eye.

According to CFM estimates, the inspection order will affect some 352 engines in the U.S. and 681 worldwide, specified the FAA.

In addition, the engine manufacturer also recommends that operators verify the CFM56-7B engines with about 20,000 cycles as well. This will be applicable to an estimated 2,500 engines, states CFM.

The CFM56-7B engine is one of the most widely used airplane engines worldwide. Tuesday’s tragic failure of the popular engine model resulted in the first passenger fatality on a U.S. airline in the last nine years and the first accident-related passenger death ever recorded in the history of Southwest Airlines. </s> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. and European regulators on Friday will announce they are requiring emergency inspections within the next 20 days of fan blades of nearly 700 CFM56-7B engines worldwide after the crash this week of a Southwest Airlines jet that killed one person, two sources said.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and European regulators will announce they are mandating the inspections that were recommended by engine maker CFM International, a partnership of France’s Safran SA and General Electric Co, in a bulletin earlier Friday. The emergency inspections apply to 681 engines worldwide, including 352 in the United States. CFM said more than 150 have already been inspected. </s> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Jet engine manufacturer CFM International Inc said on Thursday airlines have inspected more than half of nearly 700 CFM engines subject to an emergency order issued late Friday by U.S. and European regulators.

The inspections cover engines like the one involved in a fatal Southwest Airlines Co (LUV.N) engine blowout last week. The directives for inspections by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and the European Aviation Safety Agency suggested rising concerns about CFM56-7B engines, built by the joint venture of General Electric Co (GE.N) and France’s Safran SA (SAF.PA). The same type of engine had a similar failure in 2016.

Ultrasonic inspections on fan blades that have been used in more than 30,000 cycles, or in service for about 20 years, will be required by May 10, the agencies said. A cycle includes one take-off and landing — and 150 had already been inspected prior to Friday’s order.

Cincinnati, Ohio-based CFM International said airline operators have completed more than 60 percent of mandated ultrasonic inspections on CFM56-7B engines with more than 30,000 cycles.

As soon as next week, the FAA was expected to finalize a separate directive on CFM56-7B engines it had proposed in August covering a different set of engines, two officials briefed on the matter said.

The engine explosion on Southwest Airlines flight 1380 in Pennsylvania was caused by a fan blade that broke off, the FAA said. The blast shattered a window, killing a passenger, the first U.S. passenger airline fatality since 2009.

The CFM56-7B engine powers the Boeing Next-Generation 737. Approximately 14,000 CFM56-7B engines are operated by 60 companies worldwide.

CFM said GE and Safran Aircraft Engines are supporting airlines with a team of 500 experts worldwide to complete the inspections quickly and help to minimize operational disruption. Southwest has said it is cancelling some flights as a result of inspections.

CFM also recommends completing inspections of fan blades with more than 20,000 cycles by the end of August, and inspections to all other fan blades by the time they reach 20,000 cycles. After first inspection, operators are recommended to repeat the inspection every 3,000 cycles, typically about two years in airline service. Those inspections for fan blades with 20,000 cycles will affect an additional 2,500 engines by August.

The engine that blew apart on last week’s Southwest flight would have been affected by Friday’s inspection order, since the company said it had 40,000 cycles. </s> The exploded engine of the Southwest Airlines flight that left one passenger dead.

PARIS: US Federal Aviation Administration said on Wednesday that it would order the inspection of 220 jet engines after investigators said a broken fan blade was the cause of an engine explosion on a Southwest Airlines flight that shattered a window and killed a passenger.

The order, called an air-worthiness directive, would require an ultrasonic inspection within the next six months of the fan blades on all CFM56-7B engines that have accrued a certain number of takeoffs.

Global airlines, too, began inspecting some Boeing 737 engines on Wednesday.

Engine-maker CFM says there are more than 8,000 of its CFM56-7B engines in operation on Boeing 737 passenger jets.

Although no cause has been ruled out, the first fatal US airline accident since 2009 is expected to focus attention on metal fatigue in engine accidents, which are rare.

An early review of Tuesday's failed Southwest engine found preliminary evidence of metal fatigue where a fan blade had broken off, Mr Robert Sumwalt, chairman of the US National Transportation Safety Board, told reporters.

"We are very concerned," Mr Sumwalt said, referring to the overall challenge of detecting slow-developing metal fatigue.

Completing the latest investigation will take about 12 to 15 months, he said.

Korean Air, Japan Airlines, Ireland's Ryanair and Canada's WestJet all said they are carrying out checks. Not all airlines operating 737s are affected. </s> • Europe orders emergency inspections of the type of engine that malfunctioned on a Southwest Airlines flight this week.
• Planes with the CFM56-7B engine must be inspected in the next 20 days if the engine has been in service for around 20 years.
• Some 352 engines in the US and 681 engines worldwide are eligible for emergency inspections.

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has joined US authorities in ordering an emergency inspection of the type of engine that malfunctioned on a Southwest Airlines flight this week to deadly effect.

In a statement on Saturday, EASA ordered investigations of CFM56-7B enginesafter a fan blade on a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700 snapped off mid-flight, spraying shrapnel that punctured the aircraft's fuselage causing depressurization. Passenger Jennifer Riordan was killed.

It is an expansion of a previous EASA directive in 2016, issued for inspections on the same engine. Engines that contain fan blades that have completed more than 30,000 "cycles," or have been in service for around 20 years, must be inspected in the next 20 days, according to EASA.

Similar tests are being carried out in the US. America's Federal Aviation Administration said it expects 352 engines in the US and 681 engines worldwide to be eligible for emergency inspections.

The CFM56-7B debuted in 1997 and currently powers more than 6,700 planes in the world. It is the product of a 40-year-old joint venture between GE Aviation and France's Safran Aircraft Engines called CFM International.

Several major airline officials said the order will primarily impact airlines with higher utilisation of aircraft covering shorter routes like Southwest, according to Reuters. </s> The Federal Aviation Administration on Friday ordered airlines to inspect the fan blades of some engines of the same type that exploded on a Southwest Airlines flight earlier this week. One passenger was killed after she was partially sucked through a window that blew open in the blast when a fan blade on one of the Boeing 737's engines broke loose when the plane was above 30,000 feet.

It was the first passenger death on a U.S. airline since 2009 and the first ever passenger fatality due to an accident or incident in Southwest's history.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the "emergency" order was based on a service bulletin, also issued Friday from the engine's manufacturer, CFM International, calling for more stringent testing of the CFM56-7B engine, and an investigation into the deadly engine failure on Southwest Flight 1380, the airline regulator said.

Under the FAA's order some engines will have to be inspected within 20 days.

The engine type is one of the most commonly used around the world. Friday's order will affect some 352 engines in the U.S. and 681 worldwide.

CFM International, a joint venture of General Electric and France's Safran Aircraft Engines, said engine inspectors can examine the engine while it is still on the wing using an ultrasonic probe. Tiny cracks in the engine's fan blades may not be visible to the naked eye. That test takes about four hours per engine, CFM said.

CFM also recommended that engines with about 20,000 cycles, which it estimates applies to 2,500 engines.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an Emergency Airworthiness Directive (EAD) that requires operators to inspect fan blades on certain CFM56-7B engines within 20 days. The directive is based on a CFM International Service Bulletin issued today and on information gathered from the investigation of Tuesday's Southwest Airlines engine failure. The inspection requirement applies to CFM56-7B engines. Specifically, engines with more than 30,000 total cycles from new must undergo inspections within 20 days. The EAD becomes effective upon publication. The engine manufacturer estimates today's corrective action affects 352 engines in the U.S. and 681 engines worldwide.

This story is developing. Please check back for updates. </s> Last week, Southwest Airlines Flight 1380 operated by Boeing B737-700 aircraft suffered engine failure, which led to eventual death of one passenger.

One of the two engines of the aircraft was damaged airborne, while traveling from New York to Dallas with 144 passengers and five crew onboard.

The pilot of the flight declared emergency landing and took the airplane to rapid descent and landed successfully in Philadelphia.

 According to CNN, as passengers prayed and pondered their last words to loved ones, the pilot in command of the flight, Captain Tammie Jo Shults and First Officer Darren Ellisor had the duty of landing the big injured aircraft safely.

One of the passengers, Jennifer Riordan who was almost sucked out of the airplane after she was fatally injured was pulled back by passengers into the plane but she died in the hospital after the aircraft landed safely. It was the first fatal accident involving a US-based passenger airline since 2009, NTSB said.

After the accident, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) started investigation into the aircraft engine. According to reports, in preliminary briefings, NTSB Chairman, Robert Sumwalt said that inspection of the damaged engine revealed that one of the titanium blades on the big fan had broken off at the root, and that there was evidence of metal fatigue at the site where it broke. He said metal fatigue is a major problem.

Investigations also suggested that the engine, which was built by CPM, might have had that challenge because “the shrapnel damage to the plane’s fuselage and photos of the damage suggest this was a dangerous “uncontained engine failure.” Such incidents occur about three or four times a year worldwide, according to the NTSB.

After the accident, signals were sent all over the world for the inspection of the engine type, which is CFM 56-7B, which is fitted in most of Boeing B737-700 New Generation aircraft series.

On Monday, FAA and European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) issued emergency airworthiness directives requiring operators to inspect fan blades on older CFM56-7B engines within 20 days, airwise.com reported.

The directives applied to CFM International engines of the type that was fitted to the Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700.

 Initial NTSB inspections of the Southwest engine showed a fan blade had detached and there was evidence of metal fatigue in the fractured blade.

Engines with over 30,000 total cycles must complete the inspections within 20 days, the FAA said. The CFM engines subject to the emergency directives number 681 worldwide and 352 in the US.

 In Nigeria, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) received FAA directive to review the aircraft the same type of aircraft engines fitted on aircraft being operated in Nigeria.

The Director General of NCAA, Captain Muhtar Usman told THISDAY that the agency was reviewing the aircraft being operated by Nigerian airlines to identify those that may have the engine type.

THISDAY investigations disclosed that Arik Air is the only airline that has Boeing B737-700 and has seven of the aircraft type in its fleet. But inside sources revealed that the engines are relatively newer than the ones being investigated and they neither were near 20 years old nor recorded 30,000 total cycles.

Captain Usman said after the review, if any aircraft engine was affected the NCAA would take appropriate action, dismissing insinuations that some of the aircraft in Air Peace fleet may also have such engine types.

 Spokesman of Air Peace, Chris Iwarah said the airline has Boeing 737-300 and 737-500 aircraft, “which had been credited with perfect engine performance”, in its fleet.

The B737-300 and B737-500 aircraft are fitted with a CFM56-3C engine,” he said.

 The airline said besides contracting one of the best aircraft maintenance companies in the world, BCT Aviation, to do routine maintenance of its fleet on ground its base in Lagos, it was spending huge foreign exchange to maintain its aircraft in some of the best facilities in the world to ensure that the safety of the flying public was not compromised.

“The FAA directive to airlines which operate aircraft with the same engine with the US carrier to perform ultrasonic inspection on the engines installed on NG B737-700 does not extend to engines installed on the classic aircraft, which we have in our fleet. Besides, our aircraft are maintained in accordance with the approved maintenance programme and manufacturer maintenance document,” Air Peace said.

 NTSB said there is need to check the engine type because similar incident happened in 2016, although there was no loss of lives, but the plane made an emergency landing in Pensacola, Florida. The FAA responded 10 months later with a recommendation that airlines use ultrasound to inspect their engine fan blades. Though most airlines have complied with that counsel, the agency thought the matter significantly urgent that it has begun the laborious federal process to mandate that every airline carry out the inspections.

 By the time FAA concludes its findings on the engine type, it may likely direct that such engines should be suspended from use and this would cost airlines huge resources replacing the engines. Meanwhile, southwest Airlines flights are disrupted due to the ongoing findings. </s> NTSB investigators check the damage to the engine on the plane of Southwest Flight 1380, on April 17, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Southwest Airlines said it hasn’t found any additional evidence of the metal fatigue on jet engine fan blades that led to last week’s fatal accident after inspecting 8,500 of the components.

“With the inspections we have stepped up since last week, we have had no findings at this point, which is obviously what we would expect,” Chief Executive Officer Gary Kelly said in a quarterly earnings call with analysts on Thursday.

Responding to last week’s fatal accident on Southwest Flight 1380, the airline has been racing to inspect fan blades on the engine model that failed. It has about 35,500 fan blades in its fleet, 17,000 of which were inspected before the accident. Since speeding up checks after an emergency inspection order last week, the company has about 10,000 more to look at, according to Chief Operating Officer Mike Van de Ven.

The inspections of one of the most common jet engines in the world were carried out under an emergency directive issued Friday by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration in the wake of last week’s fatal accident in which a fan blade cracked and sent metal fragments flying, triggering an explosive decompression on the plane. A New Mexico woman was partially sucked through a window and died.

Inspections were originally triggered by a similar 2016 engine failure on a Southwest plane that also caused it to lose pressure, but no one was injured. Southwest said it found one cracked blade last year and removed it.

The engine is the CFM56-7B made by CFM International Inc., a partnership between General Electric Co. and France’s Safran SA.

Southwest expects to have inspected all its CFM56-7B engines, not just those covered under the emergency order, within 30 days.

CFM issued a release Thursday saying that 60 percent of the approximately 680 engines covered under the order issued by FAA and other nations’ aviation regulators had been inspected.
Jet engine manufacturer CFM International calls for heightened checks of its CFM56-7B after a Boeing 737 passenger died in an accident this month. The CFM56-7B is one of the most commonly used engines worldwide.