New Inspections for Plane Engines Ordered

NTSB investigators are looking to see if one of the fan blades in the engine of the plane was among those that the manufacturer and the FAA had called to be inspected last year. The engine is a CFM 56-7B. The NBC4 I-Team learned late Wednesday the FAA will now issue an air worthiness directive within the next two weeks. It will require new inspections of these types of engines. In a statement, the FAA said, “The FAA will issue an Airworthiness Directive (AD) within the next two weeks that will require inspections of certain CFM56-7B engines. The directive will require an ultrasonic inspection of fan blades when they reach a certain number of takeoffs and landings. Any blades that fail the inspection will have to be replaced.” Lolita Lopez reports for the NBC4 News on Wednesday, April 18, 2018.