US: FAA orders more V2500 disk inspections, citing ‘uncontained’ failure risk

The FAA has issued an emergency order requiring aircraft operators to inspect high-pressure turbine disks in some International Aero Engines V2500s, which power Airbus A320-family jets. The emergency airworthiness directive, issued by the FAA on 22 May, takes effect on immediately. It follows a V2500 uncontained engine failure and applies to a subset of V2500s with specific first- and second-stage high-pressure turbine disks. “This emergency AD was prompted by a review of investigative findings from an event involving an uncontained failure of a high-pressure turbine first-stage disk that resulted in high-energy debris penetrating the engine cowling,” the FAA’s order says. It requires operators to perform ultrasonic inspections of affected first- and second-stage disks within 10 flight cycles. Disks that fail inspection must be replaced before further flight. The inspections must be completed in accordance with previously issued IAE service bulletins. The AD applies to engines with 15 serial numbers and does not specify how many US-operated aircraft are affected.<br/>