Explainer: RTX engine snag puts spotlight on aerospace quality issues

Aerospace giant RTX Corp on Monday told airlines hundreds of their Airbus jets would be grounded at any one time in coming years to check for a rare manufacturing flaw, souring the mood in an industry that was only just experiencing some relief from supply chain pressures. It is the latest manufacturing defect to hit planemaking this year, after separate quality issues with another big supplier Spirit AeroSystems. RTX unit Pratt and Whitney's popular Geared Turbofan (GTF) engines were designed for better fuel efficiency and fewer emissions. The engines have become popular and now compete with the LEAP engines produced by CFM International to power the Airbus A320neo. But concerns over its performance have swirled in recent months after engines faced problem with durability in hot and dusty climates, requiring more frequent maintenance. In July, RTX disclosed it had found microscopic containments in powdered metal, used to manufacture high-pressure turbine discs that are part of engine's core, and presence of which could lead to cracks in the engine. sRTX said at that time that 200 engines would require "accelerated inspection" with 60 days to fix each engine with a contamination issue. However, on Monday RTX widened the scope of inspections, to pull around 600 to 700 engines off their Airbus jets and projected repair work to last up to 300 days per engine.<br/>