Airbus Jet Engine Problem Affects 1,200 Turbines

Munich — Approximately 1,200 turbines are thought to be affected by the latest Airbus medium-haul jet engine problem, according to German engine manufacturer MTU.

About 200 turbines will require maintenance by mid-September at the latest, said MTU chief Lars Wagner during a conference call with journalists on Wednesday. The remaining turbines should undergo maintenance by the year 2024 or 2025.

The Munich-based DAX corporation, together with its larger partner Pratt & Whitney from the United States, manufactures the PW1100G-JM engines, which power approximately every second Airbus medium-haul jet from the A320neo model family.

Pratt & Whitney's parent company, Raytheon Technologies, announced the issue and recall of the engines on Tuesday.

"We are working with Pratt & Whitney to minimize the impact as much as possible," Wagner said, referring to the airlines whose aircraft now need to go into premature maintenance in the midst of the rebound phase following the Covid-19 pandemic.

Wagner said it was hard to predict how many planes were affected. While each aircraft has two engines of the same type, it could be that they originate from different production cycles. If some planes have just one affected engine, and it may be that more than the calculated 600 Airbus aircraft need to go in for maintenance.

According to Wagner, the cause of the problem is a rare condition of a metal powder that was applied to the new turbine discs at Pratt & Whitney during a certain period.

Wagner said that the duration and cost of repairs per engine are yet to be determined, and was hopeful that in many cases, the work can be carried out during regularly scheduled maintenance.

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