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The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued an urgent safety recommendation Wednesday to modify jet engines on Boeing’s 737 Max airplanes to prevent smoke from entering the cockpit or cabin in certain scenarios.
The warning comes after two incidents involving Southwest Airlines planes equipped with CFM International LEAP-1B engines that experienced bird strikes in 2023.
The NTSB said that these CFM engines have a safety feature, called a load reduction device, that can inadvertently damage the oil system of the engines once it activates after a bird strike. The damage can result in smoke forming from hot oil released into the engine and entering the ventilation system and ultimately the cockpit or passenger cabin.
The NTSB investigated an incident in December 2023 involving a Southwest Airlines plane that struck a bird while taking off from New Orleans. The plane landed quickly after “acrid white smoke” filled the cockpit and was so thick that the captain said it was hard to see the instrument panel.
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A closeup of an engine of a Boeing 737 Max airplane. (REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File / Reuters Photos)
Another incident nine months earlier involving similar engine damage happened on another Southwest flight from Havana, Cuba, after birds were ingested into an engine shortly after takeoff, resulting in smoke filling the cabin.
In both cases, the flights landed safely, and no one was injured.
A Boeing 737 Max aircraft during a display at the Farnborough International Airshow, in Farnborough, Britain, July 20, 2022. (REUTERS/Peter Cziborra / Reuters Photos)
The NTSB also recommended evaluating the potential for the same issue with CFM’s LEAP-1A and LEAP-1C engines, which are used on some Airbus A320neo planes and C919 jets made by the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China.
CFM is owned by GE Aerospace and Safran Aircraft Engines.
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The Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing both said they agreed with the NTSB recommendations and have already warned airlines and pilots about the problem.
A Boeing 737 Max is displayed during the International Paris Air Show at the Paris Le Bourget Airport, on June 20, 2023. (Geoffroy van der Hasselt/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
“We advised operators to evaluate their procedures and crew training to ensure they address this potential issue,” the FAA said. “When the engine manufacturer develops a permanent mitigation, we will require operators to implement it within an appropriate timeframe.”
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BA | THE BOEING CO. | 197.73 | -2.53 | -1.26% |
| GE | GE AEROSPACE | 235.92 | +0.25 | +0.11% |
| SAFRY | SAFRAN SA | 75.03 | +0.83 | +1.12% |
| LUV | SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO. | 31.17 | -0.25 | -0.80% |
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Boeing said that CFM and Boeing “have been working on a software design update.”
Reuters contributed to this report.