NTSB: Failed airline engine disk had fatigue cracking
WASHINGTON — An engine disk that broke apart and forced an American Airlines jet to abort a takeoff in Chicago last week shows signs of fatigue cracking, according to a preliminary report released Friday by accident investigators.
A high-pressure turbine disk in the Boeing 767’s right engine broke into four pieces, which shot out of the engine’s housing. Investigators have recovered about 90 per cent of the disk, and an examination shows evidence of an anomaly where the fatigue cracking begins, the National Transportation Safety Board report said.
Metallurgical examinations of the disk are underway to determine what caused the cracking, the report said. The anomaly was inside the disk, rather than on its surface, where it would be visible. Such anomalies are usually the result of a manufacturing defect.
The engine involved in the Oct. 28 incident is a General Electric CF6-80. In a letter Friday to owners of the same engine type, manufacturer General Electric Co. said one engine containing a “closely related” part was still being used. GE said it was working with the operator of that engine, whom it did not identify, to remove the part.