PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - AF66 CDG-LAX diverts - uncontained engine failure over Atlantic
Old 30th Sep 2017, 22:07
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msbbarratt
 
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Was this a fan disk failure, or an LP shaft failure? If the shaft went ping, the fan would hurtle out the front (taking who knows what with it), and the LP turbine would come out the back pretty quickly too.

I'd like to know if the LP turbine is still on the aircraft...

If this is a shaft failure, this could be pretty bad news for GP7000 operators. GE did have issues early on with hydrogen embrittlement of shafts on their 787 engine; it was so bad that brand new engines were falling to pieces on their first run (the problem got sorted pretty quickly though). Anyway, if it is this one wonders what that does to the flight worthiness of the GP7000 fleet. AFAIK it's pretty difficult to inspect for embrittlement; you simply have to wait until it falls to pieces. We could be looking at a worldwide grounding for quite a while...

It's a mercy that all those heavy bits seemed to have mostly missed the rest of the airframe on departure. Well done the pilots for opting to get on the ground sharpish.

EDIT

Looking at the video posted above the tailcone of the engine is seemingly in good shape. So the LP turbine hasn't come smashing out through the back of the engine.

Last edited by msbbarratt; 30th Sep 2017 at 22:27.
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