The Federal Aviation Administration has ordered airlines to inspect the engines of their 737 airplanes after four reports of "single-engine shutdowns."
Many 737 aircraft have been sitting in hangars for weeks as the coronavirus pandemic suppressed demand for air travel. As airlines have resumed operations, they've discovered that a key valve has a tendency to get stuck after weeks without being used. The FAA estimates that around 2,000 aircraft could be affected.
"If this valve opens normally at takeoff power, it may become stuck in the open position during flight and fail to close when power is reduced at the top of descent," the FAA's directive warns. That could result in "an unrecoverable compressor stall and the inability to restart the engine."
This has happened on four occasions in recent weeks. Alaska Airlines has acknowledged that one of its airplanes suffered from the problem during a flight from Seattle to Austin. The airplane was able to land safely despite the unexpected shutdown of one of its engines and no one was injured, the airline says.
Thankfully, the same was true of the other three incidents: only one engine shut down and no injuries occurred as a result. But the FAA worries that an aircraft could suffer the Read More – Source
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