Airlines Warned About Jet Engine Icing

Fifteen airlines have been warned about the risk of ice forming at high altitudes in GE GEnx engines powering Boeing's new 747-8 and 787 Dreamliner airplanes, the BBC reports.

 

There have been six incidents since April when aircraft powered by the high-bypass ratio GE engines lost power at high altitude due to ice-crystal icing. The issue arises when planes fly near high-level thunderstorms.

 

Boeing notified the airlines – including Lufthansa, United Airlines, and Japan Airlines – that aircraft with the GEnx engines must not be flown within 50nm of thunderstorms that may contain ice crystals.

 

The report says GE and Boeing engineers were hoping to eliminate the problem by modifying the engine control system software.

 

Meanwhile, Japan Airlines (JAL) officials on Saturday announced the carrier will withdraw GEnx-powered Boeing 787 Dreamliners from service on its Tokyo-Delhi and Tokyo-Singapore routes.

 

JAL will continue to fly 787s for other international and domestic routes where cumulonimbus clouds are not likely to be an issue, according to another report.