General Electric får "blått øye" for sin GEnx motor

Watchdog Calls for GE Engine Inspections

By ANDY PASZTOR, JON OSTROWER and KATE LINEBAUGH

(WSJ) Federal safety watchdogs on Friday called on U.S. aviation regulators to mandate stringent repetitive inspections of all General Electric Co. GE +0.41%engines used on Boeing Co.'s BA -0.42%787 and newest 747 models, citing a "threat of multiple engine failures on a single aircraft."

The National Transportation Safety Board's urgent recommendation follows two previously reported safety incidents on the ground with GE's newest engine type, plus a third instance of a problem the board disclosed in its letter to the Federal Aviation Administration. The recommendation, among other things, indicates that investigators believe some sort of corrosion or "environmentally assisted cracking" was responsible for internal fractures detected in at least two of the three cases.

Despite extensive investigation and checks of affected engines stretching back to late July-and close coordination between the FAA, Boeing and GE to try to resolve safety issues-the board determined that immediate further action is warranted. The decision was prompted partly by the fact that more than three dozen uninspected engines remain on 747-8 cargo planes currently in service.

The board also called on the FAA to mandate inspections of engines on both models at "a sufficiently short interval" to detect tiny cracks before they spread and pose a potential hazard of in flight engine failure.

The failures of GE's newest engine, dubbed the GEnx, are a black eye for the world's largest jet engine maker at a time when the aircraft market is booming and the battle among engine makers is fierce. Buyers of Boeing 787 Dreamliners can choose GE or Rolls-Royce RR.LN -2.26%PLC Trent 1000 engines.