Boeing jet’s fiery engine blast came amid long effort for a fix

Boeing has been working for several years with US regulators on ways to fortify engine covers for at least two of its best-selling jetliners, a redesign that was still underway when one failed last month and rained shredded metal onto a Denver suburb. The planemaker and the FAA have been studying ways to reinforce the inlet and engine cowling mounted on the front of jet turbines on at least some 777s and an older 737 family, according to people familiar with the effort and public documents. The safety review and redesign work were prompted by two 2018 incidents in which shattered fan blades destroyed the front covering of engines, said the people, who asked not to be identified while discussing the matter. That portion of an engine isn’t as heavily fortified to contain flying hunks of metal as the casing surrounding the turbine’s furnace-like core. That could be changing. The fan blades, which can be more than four feet long, are exposed to enormous pressure during flight. They are essentially the propellers that pull the plane through the air, spinning at several thousand revolutions per minute. When one breaks off it travels with such force it can seriously damage the aircraft and even cause it to crash if it isn’t contained. Story has more. <br/>