CFM warms of used turbine blades with falsified records

CFM had sent out a warning to operators of the CFM56 engine that after market high pressure turbine blades are being seen with fake records about their history.

They have seen 8 sets of blades with everything from signatures that don't match the person yay allegedly signed the paperwork, to the wrong logo on paperwork.

One set of blades, according to internal records had 31,000 hours and 4200 cycles in 2006. The new records showed a lifetime of 2600 hours and less than 500 cycles since entering service.

m.aviationweek.com...

a reply to: Zaphod58

Good thing I don't own a jet yet.

I can't access the full link, can I assume that this is not the latest (MK VII model?) due to the hours involved?

These are flight critical component's. Should the outcome of the investigation prove this activity is indeed accurate; then this is a complete failure of the in process over site inspection at the subcontract level. I find this scary. To think that there are individuals who are capable of risking the world flying public.

a reply to: Zaphod58

a reply to: hotel1

These are older engines that are being stripped and parted out.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Scary stuff, for all kinds of the wrong reasons.

a reply to: hotel1

Yeah it is. Thank God they pay attention to even small details like signatures.

Yep its one thing they are very wary of and also of counterfeit parts.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Anything to make a few bucks...

Some people really need a smack.

It is impressive the forces that the exhaust turbine blades do go through. When it comes to spares there is a lot more I would be looking at rather than its hours of use, but it is a factor. Well maintained spare parts used is good environments can last a very long time. They can also get trashed real quick as turbine blades do not like sand storms or flocks of birds.

A lot of the heat a pressure that turbine blades live in shred most materials real quick, but this environment also makes diamonds. Having the right compounds, design and engineering and these blades could just get stronger and stronger under the right conditions. Some blades these days are grown as a single crystal of silicon carbide, I would expect a very long life treated right.

But not all are this good and the used parts market does have its share of false claims and records. Testing for any cracks with x-rays and acoustics if I had any concern about their internal integrity.

a reply to: kwakakev

The problem here is that certain checks need to be done at certain times. If the hours are that far off, you're going to be using blades that are way past their check dates and could be approaching the end of their life, or be past it and you won't know it.

a reply to: Zaphod58

The bigger problem is that they even refurbish turbine engines with older used engines... I was a f-16 crew chief back in my hay day and we had to do these things called FOD walks and checks, FOD standing for Foreign Object Detection. We'd all line up and search for little tiny rocks or debris anything that could get sucked up into the intake of a fighter jet.

Now the bigger commercial engines don't have as big a worry but still are turbine engines and still able to be damaged ridiculously easy.

Matter of fact, I have severe stress when / if I have to fly ever since I was a crew chief since I learned all how too easy a jet engine of any kind can bite the dust.

You put x amount of people between the jet and the pilot and this is what will happen.

Still refurbished dvd player or PC = cool
Refurbished jet engine for your next overseas flight = boat tickets