Engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney Canada (PWC) should act to protect its JT15D-5 aircraft engines against catastrophic failure in case of bird strikes or foreign object ingestion, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) says.
The NTSB, citing three incidents in which the engines failed catastrophically after ingesting relatively small birds, recommended to Transport Canada in late February that it require modifications of all JT15D-5 engines on Raytheon/Hawker Beechjet 400A airplanes “to dampen the rub-induced excitation that can occur between the engine fan and fan case during bird strike or foreign object ingestion events.”
All three incidents involved birds from species that typically weigh considerably less than 4 lb (2 kg) — the weight required for certification testing of the engines.
