US Orders Engine Inspection after Deadly Airplane Accident

美国在致命事故后下令对飞机发动机进行严格检查

United States airline officials have ordered inspections of some jet engines after a passenger airplane suffered a deadly accident this week.

在本周有一架客机遭遇致命事故之后，美国航空系统官员已经下令对一些喷气发动机进行检查。

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced the order late Wednesday. However, the engine's manufacturer and European officials had called for careful inspections several months earlier.

美国联邦航空管理局周三晚些时候发布了这项命令。然而，该发动机的制造商和欧洲官员早在几个月前就要求对此进行严格检查。

The engine on a Southwest Airlines plane blew apart on Tuesday. Debris from the explosion broke a window. A woman sitting next to the window was partially sucked out of the plane. She later died of her injuries. The plane, which was traveling from New York to Dallas, Texas, made an emergency landing in Philadelphia.

美国西南航空公司这架飞机的引擎在周二发生了炸裂。爆炸产生的碎片击中了一扇窗户，坐在窗边的一位女士身体被部分吸出飞机。她后来伤重不治。这架从纽约市飞往德州达拉斯市的飞机在费城进行了紧急降落。

Investigators said a blade in the engine broke off during the flight. They said the blade showed signs of metal fatigue — very small cracks that can break apart under stress.

调查人员表示，飞机发动机的一扇叶片在飞行期间发生了脱落。他们表示，该叶片出现了金属疲劳的迹象，这种非常细微的裂纹在压力下可能会断裂。

In 2016, U.S. officials also blamed metal fatigue on a similar engine failure on another Southwest Airlines plane in Florida.

2016年，美国官员还将美国西南航空公司在佛罗里达州另一架飞机发生的类似发动机故障归咎于金属疲劳。

The incident led the manufacturer CFM International to recommend last June that airlines carry out inspections of fan blades in its CFM56-7B engines.

这起事故导致去年6月发动机制造商CFM国际公司建议航空公司对该公司生产的CF56-7B发动机的叶片进行检查。

CFM International is a joint business of GE Aviation and France's Safran Aircraft Engines. The company says over 8,000 CFM56-7B engines are currently in use on Boeing's 737 airplanes.

CFM国际公司是由美国通用航空和法国赛峰飞机发动机公司组建的合资公司。该公司表示，目前有超过8千台CFM56-7B发动机在波音737飞机上使用。

Robert Sumwalt is chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board. He said, "Engine failures like this should not occur."

美国国家运输安全委员会主席罗伯特·桑沃特 (Robert Sumwalt)表示，“这种引擎故障就不应该发生。”

But he advised it was too soon to question the safety of the engines or the Boeing 737s. The plane is the most popular commercial airplane in the world.

但他表示现在质疑发动机或波音737飞机的安全性尚为时过早。这种机型是全球最受欢迎的商用飞机。

On Wednesday, the FAA said it will require inspections of fan blades on CFM56-7B engines after they reach a certain number of takeoffs and landings. Blades that fail inspection would need to be replaced.

美国联邦航空管理局表示，该局将会要求对起降达到一定次数的CFM56-7B发动机的叶片进行检查。未通过检查的叶片需要更换。

Southwest Airlines announced its own program for similar inspections of its 700 planes over the next month.

美国西南航空公司宣布了自己的计划，将在下个月对该公司700架飞机进行类似检查。

I'm Mario Ritter.

马里奥·里特报道。

United States airline officials have ordered inspections of some jet engines after a passenger airplane suffered a deadly accident this week.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced the order late Wednesday. However, the engine's manufacturer and European officials had called for careful inspections several months earlier.

The engine on a Southwest Airlines plane blew apart on Tuesday. Debris from the explosion broke a window. A woman sitting next to the window was partially sucked out of the plane. She later died of her injuries. The plane, which was traveling from New York to Dallas, Texas, made an emergency landing in Philadelphia.

Investigators said a blade in the engine broke off during the flight. They said the blade showed signs of metal fatigue — very small cracks that can break apart under stress.

In 2016, U.S. officials also blamed metal fatigue on a similar engine failure on another Southwest Airlines plane in Florida.

The incident led the manufacturer CFM International to recommend last June that airlines carry out inspections of fan blades in its CFM56-7B engines.

CFM International is a joint business of GE Aviation and France's Safran Aircraft Engines. The company says over 8,000 CFM56-7B engines are currently in use on Boeing's 737 airplanes.

Robert Sumwalt is chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board. He said, "Engine failures like this should not occur."

But he advised it was too soon to question the safety of the engines or the Boeing 737s. The plane is the most popular commercial airplane in the world.

On Wednesday, the FAA said it will require inspections of fan blades on CFM56-7B engines after they reach a certain number of takeoffs and landings. Blades that fail inspection would need to be replaced.

Southwest Airlines announced its own program for similar inspections of its 700 planes over the next month.

I'm Mario Ritter.

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Words in This Story

debris –n. the pieces that are left after something has been destroyed

blade –n. one of the flat spinning parts that are used in some machines that push air, such as jet engines

fatigue –n. weakness caused by stress in living or mechanical materials

occur –v. happen