U.S. Expands CFM Order to Newer Fan Blades | Aviation International News

U.S. Expands CFM Order to Newer Fan Blades

Amended advisory directive based on CFM service bulletin

By Gregory Polek • Senior Editor

May 2, 2018

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has expanded requirements published in an emergency advisory directive issued in response to the catastrophic failure of a CFM CFM56-7B turbofan on a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737. The new AD, published in the Federal Register on May 2, broadens the requirement for performing initial ultrasound inspection on each fan blade from before the fan blade accumulates 30,000 cycles to before it reaches 20,000 cycles since new, or within 113 days from the May 14 effective date of the directive. It also requires repetitive inspections every 3,000 cycles thereafter.

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