Jet Airways to Inspect Four B737 Engines After Deadly Explosion on US Airline

Representative image (Image: Reuters)

New Delhi: Four engines of Jet Airways’ Boeing 737 planes will undergo checks after the US and European aviation regulators issued an emergency directive to conduct tests after a similar engine exploded during a Southwest Airlines flight in the US, resulting in the death of a passenger.

In a statement released on Saturday, the airlines said that three engines currently being used on aircraft and one in maintenance will be tested within the next 20 days. Boeing 737s form the backbone of Jet Airways’ fleet. The airline operates 83 such aircraft with the problematic CFM56-7B engines.

A Jet Airways spokesman said the airline has “received the latest Emergency Airworthiness Directives from the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) and EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency) which mandate an inspection of all fan blades of any engine that has accumulated 30,000 flight cycles or greater”.

The spokesperson, however, sad that the impact to Jet Airways is low and the inspections are not expected to cause any disruption to the airline’s published schedule. The checks will be conducted well in advance of the stipulated timeline, the spokesperson added.
Earlier this week, one CFM56-7B engine of a Southwest Boeing 737 on a New York-Dallas flight had blown out mid-air and its fan blade had then shattered a window, leading to a passenger’s death. The flight had to make an emergency landing.

Following the incident, the FAA and the EASA ordered emergency inspections of nearly 700 aircraft engines similar to the one involved in the fatal Southwest Airlines engine blowout.

Jet Airways said it is in close contact with both the aircraft and engine manufacturer as well as the Airworthiness authorities in both the US and India to ensure it is kept apprised of any further developments or initiatives that may be required or recommended.

“The airline is committed to implement any maintenance inspections or other directives that may be published by either the FAA, EASA or the DGCA as a result of the investigation of the recent event,” it said, adding, “should further actions be deemed necessary, the airline will undertake them immediately as the safety of guests and crew is of paramount importance at Jet Airways.”

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