NTSB Says Boeing 747 Engine Issue Different from 787 Engine Problem

Atlas Air Boeing 747-8 (Photo: Boeing)

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has said in a release that the GE engine that failed in China on a Boeing 747 suffered from a different issue than the Boeing 787 engine failure in South Carolina on July 28th.

The Seattle Times reports:

‘The NTSB had previously said that preliminary evidence in the Shanghai incident suggested a cracked mid-shaft, which is what caused a GEnx engine on a Boeing 787 to break apart in Charleston, S.C. That had prompted an urgent recommendation for inspections.

After the July 28 incident, inspectors discovered a second cracked shaft on a GEnx engine that hadn’t yet flown.’

The NTSB says they still don’t know the cause of the 747 engine failure…only that it was not a cracked mid-shaft.

Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings is the only carrier flying the Boeing jets that would fall under the FAA rule. Both of Atlas’s two 747-8 cargo jets have been inspected and didn’t have cracks, the company said in a release.

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