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A Japan Airlines Boeing 787 pilot on 9 March commanded an in-flight engine shut down after receiving an oil pressure alert and made an emergency landing in Honolulu.The incident marked the first in-flight shut down of an operational 787 powered by the General Electric GEnx-1B turbofan engine.
Japan Airlines Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner
The GEnx-powered 787 flight now has an in-flight shut down rate of 0.0036, the company says.
The pilot of JAL flight 2 from Tokyo Haneda to San Francisco observed a low oil pressure reading on the right-hand engine while in-flight, according to the airline and GE.
The pilot decided to shut down the engine, divert to the nearest airport and declare an emergency, both companies say. The aircraft landed safely 8h after take-off from Tokyo around midnight, according to JAL. The engine manufacturer is “racing” to reach the 787 in Honolulu with a spare engine, says GE, with a goal to return the aircraft to flight in a “few days”.
Meanwhile, GE’s engineers will inspect the faulty engine to determine the cause of the low oil pressure reading.
It is the first series engine in over 18 months for the GEnx-1B engine. In October 2012, GE discovered that a lead-free coating applied to the fan midshaft had accelerated the corrosion process in some humid climates, leading to a fan midshaft failure on an Air India 787 on the ground in July 2012. via pro
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