Pratt & Whitney discloses ‘new’ material issue on the GTF

Another setback for Pratt & Whitney Geared Turbofan operators. The engine maker says that “a significant portion of the PW1100G-JM engine fleet” on Airbus A320neo family aircraft will need accelerated wing removal and inspection within nine to twelve months. The reason is a powder metal contamination issue found in the high-pressure turbine disk on engines produced until early 2021. Pratt & Whitney discloses ‘new’ material issue on the GTF.

P&W mentioned the latest issue today in its HY1 earnings presentation. The OEM says that the problem will result in “approximately 200 accelerated removals by mid-September of this year.” By then, Pratt expects to have a better understanding of the extent of the problem. It is most likely that another 1.000 engines will need inspection by late 2024.

RTX (previously Raytheon Technologies) Chairman and CEO Greg Hayes and President and Chief Operating Officer Chris Calio

stressed that this “is not a GTF design issue, this is a manufacturing issue with our powder metal.” The contamination was found with enhanced inspection techniques and traced back to powder metal that was used to produce HPT disks between Q4 2015 and early 2021. RTX produces the powder metal in its own New York facility before manufacturing the disks at the RTX plant in Columbus (Georgia).