Exclusive: Boeing and GE Warned About Airplane Engine That Exploded

[n2doc]

A British Airways Boeing 777 suffered a catastrophic engine failure on takeoff from Las Vegas last week, with fire and debris shooting into the wing and fuselage.

It was the closest of close calls: the airplane, only seconds from lifting off the runway, was loaded with more than 20,000 gallons of fuel for an 11-hour flight to Gatwick, England. Had the gas tanks ignited there would have been a fire—greatly lessening the chance of escape for the passengers and crew.

The Daily Beast has learned that the General Electric engine that failed was the subject of a safety warning from the Federal Aviation Administration four years ago.

A flaw had been discovered in the manufacture of the engine, the GE90-85B that, the FAA warned, could lead to the disintegration of the engine’s turbine and the explosion of high-velocity debris that would endanger an airplane—exactly what happened in the dramatic emergency on the runway at Las Vegas, where a trail of engine debris has been discovered by investigators.

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http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/09/14/exclusive-boeing-and-ge-warned-about-airplane-engine-that-exploded.html