Jaunted

Rolls Royce is the manufacturer behind the so-called troubled engines. Yes, that Rolls Royce of the iconic luxury automobile--they also make airplane engines (actually, the aero engines and automotive divisions have been operating separately since 1973.) The National Transportation Safety Board became concerned after they linked a faulty engine with the January 17, 2008 crash of a British Airways plane in London, as well as with a Delta flight in November of 2008. The Delta plane lost power to an engine while cruising over Montana, but made it to Atlanta safely.

Officials are concerned that ice build-up on the engine’s fuel exchange device is cutting off the fuel supply. This is why urgent repair has been ordered for Boeing 777s that are using these Rolls Royce engines. While the FAA asked airlines to just add some procedures to their pilot’s manuals, the NTSB wants a real solution not just a simple fix. Yes, we too would enjoy knowing that our fuel exchanger is working correctly, and we’re sure that pilots would too. [UPDATE: There is a fix for the RR Trent 800 engines in the works according to Flight Global.]

There are over 200 planes worldwide that will need to be fixed, but there was no mandate to ground these planes—yet. Rolls Royce claims that they can have repairs complete within the year. Until then, maybe we’ll make sure these planes aren’t on our itinerary for a little bit.

Related Stories:
·Urgent Repair Recommended For Some Boeing 777 Engines [CNN]
·NTSB Issues Urgent Recommendation on Boeing 777 [Aviation Herald]
·Boeing coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: markhillary]