FAA, EASA Tighten CFM56-7B Inspection Deadline

The US FAA and European aviation safety regulator EASA have issued further updates for the inspection of CFM56-7B engine fan blades, the type that failed on a Southwest Airlines aircraft last month, causing the death of one passenger.

The updated airworthiness directives (ADs) tighten the timeframe for inspections, with fan blades that have completed between 20,000 and 30,000 cycles now required to be inspected by June 30. The previous AD’s deadline was the end of August.

The deadline for fan blades with over 30,000 cycles remains the same. A cycle comprises start up, take-off, landing and engine shut down.

The European Aviation Safety Agency said in its AD that since the previous directive was issued, it had determined that “the initial inspection for certain fan blades must be accomplished within a reduced compliance time.”

The fan blade on the Southwest Airlines 737 engine that failed last month was found to have signs of metal fatigue, the US National Transportation Safety Board said.

The blades had over 32,000 engine cycles since new and were last overhauled 10,712 cycles before the accident, NTSB said in an update on its accident investigation.

The CFM56 engine is manufactured by CFM International, a joint venture between GE Aviation and Safran Aircraft Engines.