Citing the uncontained failure of an Airbus A380 engine during a trans-Atlantic flight in September, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has ordered inspections of all Engine Alliance (EA) GP7200-series engine fan hubs.
The FAA ordered the inspections Thursday, issuing Emergency Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2017-21-51, which calls on operators of aircraft with EA GP7200-series engine fan hubs to visually inspect them within eight weeks, or sooner, depending on the number of cycles flown. If the inspections reveal damage or defects outside serviceable limits, the hubs are to be removed and replaced with other hubs that have been inspected and found airworthy in accordance with terms of the AD.
The engines are installed in about 125 A380s worldwide. According to the most recent Airbus figures…
