Faulty engine blade cited in F-16 crash
The Korean Air Force on Wednesday announced that the cause of the KF-16 fighter jet crash in February was a defect in its engine blades.A joint investigation with the American engine manufacturing company, Pratt & Whitney, determined that the assembly of the engine in the crashed fighter jet had not been properly carried out. According to Kim Sang-jin, chief at the safety branch office of inspector general, all 60 fan drive turbine blades on one of the engine's four levels were cracked.
Among the 110 KF-16s in service, 70 planes will be returned to duty by June, after inspections. The other 40, made by a different subcontractor of Pratt & Whitney, will have their blades changed before returning to the skies. The replacement will take until the end of August.
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.
Standards Board Policy (0/250자)