Though not a safety concern as of now, Aero engine maker Pratt & Whitney has expressed the requirement of inspections of around 1200 Pratt PW1100 engines off-wing by mid-September, as they will go through Overhaul shop visit.
It's being learned that Pratt & Whitney has identified a rare condition in powder metal used to manufacture certain GTF (geared turbofan) engine parts, that will include HPT Stage 1 & 2 disks, requiring accelerated fleet inspection.
Approximately 200 accelerated GTF engine removals and inspections are expected by mid-September 2023, and another 1,000 engines will need inspections in the next nine to 12 months to complete the call-out.
Due to this development with PW1100G-JM engines, a sizeable number of Airbus A320neo passenger planes, on which these Turbofan engines have been installed , will need new engines, inviting a definite Summer travel Chaos.
However, the Pratt & Whitney discovered problem, that could cause parts to wear out more quickly, has immediate effects on the Shares of Pratt & Whitney parent company Raytheon / RTX Corp., which fell 11% Tuesday afternoon , after the company disclosure.
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Pratt & Whitney identified a rare condition in powder metal used to manufacture certain engine parts, requiring accelerated fleet inspection. Approximately 200 accelerated engine removals and inspections are expected by mid-September 2023.
RTX said that the “rare condition” in powder metal used to manufacture the internal parts like high-pressure turbine disks , made between late 2015 and mid-2021 , will need to be inspected after dispantling the engine followed by inspections , and replacement if required.
“It’s going to be expensive,” Greg Hayes, CEO of RTX, said on its quarterly earnings call. He also said it was too early to measure the final cost of the engine recall. RTX said the issue didn't affect flight safety.
Also, the batches of same engine models , currently under production will not be affected,
Pratt & Whitney "determined that a rare condition in powder metal used to manufacture certain engine parts will require accelerated fleet inspection. This does not impact engines currently being produced,” according to RTX's (RTX) earnings announcement.
The PW1100G-JM Turbofan engines manufactured between 2015 and 2021 will be under effectivity of the issue raised by the OEM , and the Airbus A320neo aircraft that began commercial flights in 2016, will be receiving the disruption.
Worth mentioning , Pratt & Whitney's Geared Turbofan, or GTF, engine has faced issues with reliability since its introduction in 2015. About 3,000 GTF engines are in operation among airlines worldwide.
In another development, Japanese Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Aero Engines, Ltd. (MHIAEL), a group company of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI), has completed its first maintenance of the PW1100G-JM Turbofan engines.
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