GE alerts airlines about engine part after American Airlines fire

General Electric is seeking to remove an engine part from service after an American Airlines jet erupted in flames last week, it told air carriers in a letter seen by Reuters on Saturday. The manufacturer has identified a “limited number” of parts closely related to one used by American that had a "material anomaly," according to the letter sent Friday. All but one of the parts are now out of service, GE said in the letter. It added that it was working with the single airline with an aircraft still equipped with the part to ensure its removal from service. GE did not name the airline. A company spokesman, Rick Kennedy, confirmed that GE had sent the letter and said it was still in the early stage of an "intense investigation." On Oct. 28, American Airlines Flight 383 from Chicago to Miami aborted takeoff following an "uncontained" engine failure, a rare event in which components spew from an engine and can tear through the aircraft cabin or rupture fuel tanks in the wings. The airline was flying a Boeing Co 767 aircraft with CF6-80C2 engines made by GE. In this instance, the failure caused a fuel leak that resulted in a fire, though no one aboard was seriously injured. An American Airlines spokesman said none of the company's aircraft in operation had the additional parts that GE referred to in the letter. The spokesman added that American was turning over a part from an engine not in operation to the US NTSB for further examination. US investigators have yet to assign blame for last week's incident. However, they said on Friday that a so-called stage 2 disk in the engine showed what appeared to be cracking.<br/>