GE Aircraft Engines sent two flight safety engineers to New York on Monday to assist federal investigators probing the crash of American Airlines Flight 587.

This locally made GE Aircraft Engine turbofan engine is the same CF6-80C2 model involved in Monday's crash. (Enquirer photo) | ZOOM |

        The jet, which broke apart minutes after takeoff from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, was a twin-engine Airbus A300 built in France. GE's CF6-80C2 engines power all 35 of the A300s operated by American.

        The two GE engineers “are experts in the engines and in investigation methodology,” said Rick Kennedy, GEAE spokesman.

        The GE engineers will be assisting crash investigators from the National Transportation Safety Administration.

        The CF6-80C2 — which entered service in 1984 — is one of GE's best-selling engines. It powers more than 1,000 wide-body commercial jets, including the Boeing 747 and 767, McDonnell Douglas MD11 as well as the Airbus 310 and 330.

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        Last year, some of the engines built before 1995 came in for increased scrutiny by GE and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) after an engine failure on a CF6-80C2-powered Boeing 767 preparing for takeoff from Sao Paulo, Brazil. The Varig Brasil jet was taxiing down the runway when the crew heard a loud bang and stopped the jet on the runway. Four passengers were hurt during the evacuation.

        The FAA ordered more frequent inspections of the engines after hair-thin cracks were discovered in part of the engine compressor's spool.

        The structure is about the size of a beer keg, and holds compressor blades, which squeeze the air used to drive the engine.

        The FAA directive involved about 1,500 CF6 engines, 600 of which were to be inspected within a year because of their age.

        To facilitate those inspections, GE developed an FAA-approved probe that allows GE and the airlines to inspect the engines without taking them completely apart.

        The FAA order also called for all pre-1995 compressor spools to be replaced over the next 15 years with a newer design.

        GE said it is working with the airlines to replace all the compressor spools with the new design within five years.

        Mr. Kennedy said he had no information on the age of the engines on Flight 587, but said American Airlines was up-to-date in meeting all FAA directives.

        American Airline spokesman Al Becker said the doomed plane's left engine had gone 694 hours since its last overhaul; the right engine had gone 9,788 hours. The engines are typically overhauled every 10,000 hours.

        The plane was checked Sunday, had a heavier maintenance check on Oct. 3 and a major overhaul in December 1999, Mr. Becker said.

        The CF6-80C2 engines, assembled in Evendale until production was moved to Durham, N.C., in 1994, have been among the most reliable built by GE.

        There are 3,100 CF6-80C2 engines in service that have accumulated 75 million flight hours.

        In trading Monday, GE's shares fell 98 cents, or 2.4 percent, to $39.43.

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