Leeham News and Analysis
There's more to real news than a news release.
Blade-out design for CFM’s RISE; 2nd A320 line in Mobile
By Scott Hamilton
Arjan Hageman. Credit: GE Aerospace.
Oct. 22, 2025, © Leeham News: The Open Rotor engine and its evolution, the Open Fan, promise dramatically lower fuel consumption compared with evolutions of the ducted fan engine. The Open Rotor has counter-rotating fans, while the Open Fan has a single rotating fan with stators that do not rotate behind it, which can be adjusted or pivoted for maximum efficiency.
Open Rotor testing in the 1980s proved noisy, offered slower cruising speeds than conventional jet engines, and caused vibration that transferred to the vertical tails of the Boeing 727 and McDonnell Douglas MD-80 test beds. Questions about maintenance and concerns over blade failure were paramount.
Developers of the Open Fan, GE Aerospace, and Safran, under the CFM International brand, say objections to the Open Rotor design have been overcome. The noise is lower than that of the CFM LEAP engine, according to testing. The cruising speed is now projected to be comparable to today’s Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 MAXes. Maintenance durability, reliability, and dust ingestion testing aims to overcome entry-in-service maintenance shortcomings of the LEAP and competing Pratt & Whitney GTF engines.
Related Story
However, industry and airline officials LNA talks to aren’t yet convinced that blade out concerns have been resolved.
“We’re designing for blade-outs,” GE’s Arjan Hageman, vice president for the future of flight at GE, said in an interview with LNA earlier this month.
Composite blades key to Open Fan
GE Aerospace points to its history of composite fan blades as a key reason to reassure the airlines, lessors, Airbus and Boeing about the reliability of the Open Fan blade out concerns. Credit: GE Aerospace.
A slower-rotating fan, about the size of the propeller on the ATR-72 turboprop, reduces energy in the event a blade separates. The RPM of an ATR-72 propeller is about 1.2k; GE says the RISE’s RPM is about 1k. The top RPM of the props on the Airbus A400M is about 860. A conventional ducted turbofan RPM is more than 2.5k, GE says.
Blade separations on the ATR have been rare, and none have been reported on the A400M. There have been rare cases of blade separation on a variety of ducted fan engines.
“We’re building on our composite blade experience,” Hageman says. “This will be the sixth-generation composite blade. We’re able to make them super strong, but super light, and very low weight.
“You have a low-velocity, low-weight fan blade. That means there’s a low level of energy. It’s six times lower than a comparable ducted engine,” he says.
Hageman says that normally, the fan is contained in the fan case. “So, there’s armoring that sits in these ducts that contain that fan blade. Now I need less of that, because I have six times less energy in these blades. I simply take that armoring from the fan case and apply it to the fuselage of the aircraft in the local area next to the engine. And that is the protection from a failed blade event. If you have a blade failure, a slowly rotating fan means that blade has a lower velocity.”
Airbus opens second A320 production line in Mobile
Airbus last week opened its second final assembly line (FAL) for the A320 production plant in Mobile (AL). The first line opened 10 years ago. An A220 FAL is also located in Mobile, supplementing the primary line in Montreal, Canada.
The second Mobile A320 line is essential to Airbus taking total monthly production rates to 75/mo by 2027. A new line was previously opened in Toulouse, France, replacing the previous A380 facility, and the FAL in Tianjin, China, is also expanding.
The Mobile plant was opened with a focus on delivering A320neo to US airlines and lessors. With the second line, it can now assemble around eight A320s a month. The fuselages and wings are shipped from Airbus’s European production plants via ocean to the Port of Mobile. The Pratt & Whitney and CFM engines come from the US. Systems and components originate in the US, Europe, and elsewhere. Assembling A320s (and A220s) in the US reduces tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump on European imports, although this wasn’t the reason for creating the Mobile plant.
Locating the A220 line in Mobile was a direct response in 2017 to a Trump tariff on Canadian imports.
The Mobile plant’s A320 delivery focus has added Latin American customers. Between these two regions, the Mobile FAL has assembled and delivered 600 A320 family members to customers. The Mobile complex is now the third largest commercial aircraft manufacturing center after Boeing’s Washington State facilities.
The Mobile facilities currently employ 2,000 and are expanding to 3,000. Airbus employs 6,000 at 40 Airbus and subsidiary sites in 13 states and the District of Columbia. Airbus says it supports 275,000+ American jobs through annual spending of $15bn with 2,000+ US suppliers in 40 states.
Airbus’s Mobile (AL) A320 Final Assembly Line when it opened in 2015. Credit: Airbus.
Airbus’s Mobile (AL) Final Assembly Lines for the A320 and A220 today. Credit: Airbus.
“..The noise is lower [for the Open Fan™] than that of the CFM LEAP engine, according to testing. The cruising speed is now projected to be comparable to today’s Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 MAXes..”
I’ll believe it when I see it [cough].
Cool stuff from Airbus, with their second A320 FAL in Mobile.
Step by step, from a forward-looking company..
Whether it is technically lower or not, and whether the comparison claimed is apples with apples noise profiles/signatures or not, does it really matter to people on the ground so long as the noise perceived is at least roughly comparable with existing LEAP noise?
I was thinking more of the claim that the cruising speed would be “comparable” to the LEAP- whatever that wooly term might mean, in this case. I have no opinion yet on the noise question.
Then there’s the blade-out issue, and shielding the fuselage from same.. overall, I predict the “open fan” (or whatever it’ll be called next week) is chasing a maybe ~10% net improvement; but at what overall cost? More complexity chasing diminishing
gains- but I guess the makers have to promote *something* new.
+1
You had bigger blades on the DC-7 and Super Constellation turning at around 1400rpm. The main risk on the RISE is the variable fan blade pitch I think. If you design a very small and hot core engine at over 60:1 engine pressure ratio the risk is that it gets a short life on wing and cannot reach 16000-20000 cycles between shop visits (like on the Turco Compound R-3350 above also built in Evendale)
I am oddly in sync with Vincent on the Open Fan (I had not realized we had split terms but it does help differential the tree of TP evolution)
Some of this is having a real prototype of the RISE engine in the size specified for a MAX/A320 class aircraft use. Airbus and Boeing have had enough surprises to know you need a working article and in the case of RR, one issue developed a few years into service and then more latter.
I am scratching my head on blade size. As far as I know the only way to get thrust out of a TP is blade size, faster can be smaller but smaller and slower had to be a lot bigger.
Lighter blades maybe.
Probably the biggest elephant in the room is wing structure and bespoke wing for it. Probably wing location. Side aspect is Ramp issues.
And that does not consider passenger reaction and the ever faster move from TP to jets (US for sure). I don’t see ATR production going up despite loss of DH Dash 8 in the market. Its not there is no use, but its not growing much if any despite the growing markets. Shrinking when you take DH out of the mix.
I believe the fuel claims are 20% better. That is also a new engine and no matter how much testing, its going to have teething issues.
That does not account for fuselage armor no needed for a High Bypass jet, so another serious limit as it takes at least some special hull build on top of a different wing.
From what I see offered up by the jet tech types, P&W could offer a whole new engine with 10% improvement (probably higher). As it would be a current GTF derivative not nearly as developmental.
At that point you have two engine mfgs with GTF vs one with RISE who you can also bet has a GTF parallel or fallback (PW is also mucking with the RISE type).
So your so called 20% at best is 10% and a new GTF is going to have its own improvement curve that whittles a percent or two away year on year.
We do know CFM has succeeded in its goal to stop engine development or new aircraft until they can come out with their own GTF (of which you have all the needed parts in the RISE – that is paid for by someone else)_
Well the noise nimbys find issue as long as they can _see_ the airplanes 🙂
A slower turning fan produces lower frequencies. That is a problem because lower frequencies are harder to shield for housing and absorption by air is lower so the noise is propagating further.
Two engines having the same noise level 10 m behind the engine mustn’t have the same noise level 2 km away.
Interesting observation.
I had some work experience with noise that should not get through double ear protection and did.
After opening the second A320 production line at Mobile, Airbus openend up a second A320 production line in Tianjin too on October 22nd.
https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/airbus-opens-second-a320-assembly-line-tianjin-china
Centralizing production to shorten supply lines, concentrate knowledge and create economies of scale is not a primary strategy for Airbus it seems.
Probably because they feel connectivity, standardization, redundancy and global sales strategy are more important.
https://media.licdn.com/dms/image/v2/D4E22AQEskORaP8U5FQ/feedshare-shrink_1280/B4EZoLKFZoHEAs-/0/1761123785722?e=1762992000&v=beta&t=Cyz54JIQtmsfnyFom0s4vbUedNtHVJTQF8AyVm-JJfw
It seems the traditional duopoly balance in NB deliveries is gone for a least the next 10 years..
Low profile inauguration of the second FAL.
A European think tank proposes to weaponize supplychain of aircraft and parts:
> “Italian & German machine-tool makers are market leaders in the production of aircraft and engine parts, such as compressor blades, aircraft structures, and navigation systems”
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G32eQ6kXwAASBck?format=png
Does it work for American?
Next question: now that the new Chinese FAL has been opened, will there be a big Chinese order for AB?
Some recent reports suggested that this might have been a pre-condition…
500 aircraft order has been rumoured for quite a while, based on demand
It takes all the stars to align.
As Scott mentioned, the noise reduction is achieved by the use of a stator rather than a counter-rotating prop behind the main prop.
For the counter-rotation, there is a chopping noise created by the blades crossing airstreams in opposite directions, which is essentially a square waveform, that humans find extremely irritating. An example is the Piaggio Avanti, where the rear facing props similarly chop the airstreams coming off the wing.
By using the stator, the vanes can be positioned to minimize the chop while also recovering some of the vorticity in the airstream. Not quite as efficient as counter-rotation but much quieter. The waveform is really the key to human perception of noise.
Also as Scott stated, the blade-out scenario is now the primary concern. There is an engineering trade in enlarging the blade disc, which lowers the rpm but increases mass of the blade, for the same thrust. If the blade mass can be lowered with materials while maintaining strength, that will be key, as lower rpm with enlarged blade disc diameter also increases efficiency.
Good article as I had been wondering how development was coming along. Thanks, Scott.
Blade out is one tech concern but its second to both public acceptance and the specialized wing required.
As for noise, I can testify at least one situation where the noise was not just perceived, it was damaging and that was not supposed to be possible with double ear protection.
As this is a different approach I would put a hold on the noise resolved and put it in a maybe category.
Noise is not just a perception, it can be damaging and I don’t think they have delved into sound like other areas.
TW, the waveform of the noise has a lot to do with perception. I mentioned the Avanti, its no louder than other similar sized aircraft by sound pressure level, but it generates many times of the number of complaints.
You mentioned injury, that is also dependent on the waveform, because the abrupt leading edge rise time imposes an impulse on the ear drum, and will more easily damage hearing than a smooth sine wave.
This is why for rocket launches, FAA and NASA do not just measure root mean square power (RMS), which gives you the equivalent sine wave power. They also measure transient and peak amplitudes. In the case of a rocket, these can not just damage your hearing, but liquefy your organs.
Most of the work on the open fan has been to reduce the transients and adjust the waveform. To do that, they adjust the vane angle of the stator for different conditions. They can select for less noise near the ground and greater efficiency at altitude.
I will not disagree with what you have stated.
I am a rubber meets the road sort and when your ears start ringing, damage is being done.
I do wish I knew that earlier in life, too much chainsaw work and loud equipment before I got it and started wearing ear protection.
Ear protection need did not exist (at least up here) until the 80s or 90s rightly.
I did get muffs back in the 70s but they were not common and I had to ask for them.
Breaking:
> American Airlines is *finally* getting its first A321XLR.
American is the US launch operator of the type with plans to introduce it on premium transcon routes.
https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_fullsize/plain/did:plc:t2rloykje2a4vwe6yorlmk7q/bafkreifskg7f6tmjbaid7sf45qbd52og6lnpexgz2vdhc7k2isl6m4qn6a@jpeg
https://www.flightaware.com/live/flight/AAL9822
They are coming
https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_fullsize/plain/did:plc:epqdrgogcii7n2bxgrrxcqmx/bafkreigse364q2z4oi5sss4hhsnzi6fsd5b7fh4hmcdd5evwsbn3pcuayq@jpeg
Nice! “niche market”, though (according to the genii at Boeing™).
🙂
Two general aviation items that stood out this last week.
1. 747-400 going off Hong Kong runway. Pretty bizare as a very nice stabilized approach, normal landing and then a veer. Something went drastically wrong.
I would have said gear collapse but you don’t see drag marks (yet) I am tending to a nose wheel steering failure of some kind.
2. What looks to be a weather balloon getting run into at altitude by a MAX. Ungh. Some of the added precautions they came up with post should have been in place in the first instance.
Another case where TCAS does not provide protection though that balloon location should have been fed into ATC.
1. A simple search shows the Emirates cargo aircraft (operated by a Turkish cargo airline) veered off and hit a ground service vehicle.
https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/transport/article/3329601/2-dead-after-emirates-plane-slides-hong-kong-runway-apparently-hits-ground-vehicle
Not sure if AA Flight 3023 has been mentioned here: A virtually new Boeing 737 MAX™ that had its landing gear collapse during takeoff from Denver, which was then aborted.
Reassuring.
Don’t forget the 737-800 the pilot crashed in China.
There are incidents every day – linking a gear collapse to a MAX, hmm.
Well, a brand new Ryanair MAX had to make an emergency landing — with evacuation via slides — last week, after the cabin started to fill with smoke mid-flight.
Never a dull moment in MAX Land 😉
Sounds like the 737 MAX cabin air / engine issue that Pelle at Mentour Pilot diligently reported on. Hope Boeing gets that sorted out, posthaste.
No evidence of that at all.
Let’s hope that Airbus similarly sorts out the same problem on their aircraft, posthaste.
‘Feds issue urgent warning over risk of Boeing 737 MAX engines leaking smoke into cabin, cockpit’
By Taylor Herzlich
Published June 19, 2025, 12:31 p.m. ET
“Federal regulators have issued a rare, urgent warning over the risk of Boeing 737 MAX engines malfunctioning and letting smoke into an airplane cabin or cockpit.
Damage to the engine’s oil system can cause smoke from hot oil to enter the airplane ventilation system and fill the cabin or cockpit – presenting an extreme danger of incapacitating the pilots, the National Transportation Safety Board wrote in a report released Wednesday.
The recommendations were inspired by two incidents on Southwest Airlines flights, when CFM International LEAP-1B engines malfunctioned after bird strikes and poured smoke into the cabins.
In December 2023, a Boeing 737-8 filled with “acrid white smoke” shortly after takeoff from New Orleans, La. It was so thick that the captain struggled to see the instrument panel in the cockpit, the NTSB said.
An engine on another flight in March 2023 was similarly damaged by a bird strike, allowing fog to funnel into the passenger cabin shortly after departing Havana, Cuba..”
@ Vincent
Indeed.
One way or another, an embarrassing, costly and alarming development…occurring at a most inconvenient time, just after the FAA announced that it would be relaxing its airworthiness babysitting regimen at BA by 50% 🙈
Just to clarify, the FAA reports this was a gear fire and not a collapse. A wheel separated and the aircraft fell onto the remaining rim. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Previous similar incidents have been due to a sometime practice at high/hot Denver in the summer, which is to burn off excess fuel before takeoff by throttling up the engines during taxi while applying the brakes. That has led to gear fires and damage from overheating in the past.
Just to clarify:
‘American Airlines Boeing 737 MAX Evacuated At Denver Airport After Landing Gear Collapses’
By Luke Bodell
Published Jul 27, 2025
“An American Airlines Boeing 737 MAX in Denver had to abort takeoff and evacuate passengers after its landing gear collapsed and caught fire. Footage of the accident shows passengers escaping via the aircraft’s inflatable slides, with all 173 passengers and six crew members making it off the plane.
Denver airport officials have said that five people were treated for minor injuries and one person was transported to the hospital. According to American Airlines, the aircraft “experienced a mechanical issue” with a tire, adding that the aircraft has been removed from service pending inspections.
On Saturday afternoon, American Airlines Flight 3023 from Denver International Airport (DEN) to Miami International Airport (MIA) aborted its takeoff roll on runway 34L after suffering a problem with a tire on its landing gear. An Aviation Herald report states that the left-hand main gear strut collapsed, with the aircraft skidding to a stop and a small fire breaking out below it. In a statement made to Simple Flying, the airline said “the mechanical issue involved an aircraft tire” and that all passengers and crew evacuated the plane safely..”
Oh dear, a gear strut collapse being mischaracterized as a tire fire…🙈
brake overheats,
tire burns,
damages oleo leg seals,
gas spring buffer deflates,
collapse.
nothing untoward. expected outcome?
AVHerald states that on July 28th, the FAA said the incident was related to a fire, which caused a separation of a wheel, and that the cause of the fire was under investigation.
This is the day after your article was published.
https://avherald.com/h?article=52ad5fcf&opt=0
@ Vincent
If you look at photos of the plane during evacuation — e.g. in AV Herald — its left engine is quite clearly sitting on the ground — which indisputably indicates a gear collapse on that side.
Yeah, I know (I looked at multiple sources before posting what I did).
Thanks, though.
V.
The image taken while the passengers are evacuating, and in the AVHerald link I posted, clearly shows the engine is *NOT* resting on the ground.
The later images after emergency services addressed the situation, show the engine on the ground. The strut fluid may have been drained or released by that point.
I know that truth doesn’t matter to you guys, but this is ridiculous.
@ Vincent
Very thorough of you 👍
Even with the still-evacuating passengers on the slides and running in the foreground, one can clearly see the left engine resting on the tarmac.
One can easily see this in the above-referenced AV Herald article.
A picture really does paint a thousand words 👀
Spot on.
Much reporting is not accurate in details.
I have seen references to the Honk Kong 747 ditched after it departed the runway.
Ok, I get it, wound up in the ocean and ditched is an easy mistake or mis translation to make.
In a very narrow sense a tire burning off and a rim failing is a landing gear collapse but not in the real meaning of, it just quit and went back into the fuselage (or broke off etc).
But yea, what you would expect.
Poster got so desperate that they have to deflect to anything they could imagine!
Nothing could be wrong with the aircraft. “Must be a pilot error!”
Airline maintenance. That was a sleeper issue with the Max pitot tube malfunctions. and the Air France A330 South Atlantic crash
As for the chinese 737-800 crash reasons – thats a state secret – but lets call it ‘pilot problem’
Uh, the Boeing 737 MAX in question was *new*.
Regarding the China 737 all-fatalities crash: do you have a source for the official accident report? Thanks in advance.
@Vincent:
It was released that the -800 crash in China was a State Secret.
Nuff said, regulatory capture at its best.
Anyone think a C919 crash would not be labeled a State Secret?
Maybe as interesting is we never will see the cert details on the C919 either (or the 909 or …..)
Sure they are on paper, but adhere to? Hmm.
Some posters are so desperate to deflect from the *real* issue. From 737-800 to Airbus crashes. Lmao.
@Duke
“Airline maintenance.”
Just to clarify, where is the source of your information? “Baseless” claims are not accepted.
Some posters are so desperate to deflect from the *real* issue. From 737-800 to Airbus crashes. Lmao.
“Boeing Defense Worker Strike Extended After Latest Talks Fail”
“The latest back and forth follows two days of mediation to try to end the strike, which is now in its 12th week after 3,200 workers in the midwestern states of Missouri and Illinois went on the picket line on August 4.”
“A member of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers told a congressional panel that Boeing had failed to negotiate in good faith. Shortly after the appearance, Boeing blasted union leadership for refusing to allow a vote on the company’s most recent offer.”
“Joshua Arnold, an 11-year Boeing employee who works on the F/A-18 aircraft program, told a Senate panel in Washington that the company refuses to boost a “substandard” offer considering the rising cost of living and the skills required of Boeing’s manufacturing workers.”
https://www.industryweek.com/talent/news/55325166/boeing-defense-worker-strike-extended-after-latest-talks-fail
It’s the same company with one (eh two with the new CFO) new face.
What happened to that last Boeing CFO dude, anyway?
“Senior advisor”
Does West still enjoy Boeing business aircraft?
Or just works by Zoom?
Perfect. 😉
France has set aside part of its 2026 defense budget for the purchase of the new A321 MPA being developed by Airbus/Thales:
“France is preparing to place a 2026 order for a new maritime patrol fleet under PATMAR futur, the Direction générale de l’armement program to field an Airbus A321-based MPA with Thales sensors. The government’s 2026 performance plan for Program 146 earmarks €2,956,200,915 on the “ACT PATMAR FUTUR” line, a budget signal that moves the effort into the execution phase while leaving exact quantities and delivery phasing to contract award. Airbus, under a 24-month risk-reduction and definition award announced on February 4, 2025, says the A321 MPA is a “flying frigate” intended for anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface missions, and ISR, with wind-tunnel testing included to de-risk the design.”
https://armyrecognition.com/news/navy-news/2025/france-to-order-new-a321-maritime-patrol-aircraft-in-2026-for-extended-range-surveillance
***
So, looks like this plane is actually going to materialize…really quickly.
That will give the P-8 a run for its money.
‘NTSB issues urgent safety bulletin warning of possible problems with Boeing 737 MAX’
by JOSH FUNK Associated Press Thu, June 19th 2025 at 9:25 AM
Updated Fri, June 20th 2025 at 11:02 PM
“Safety experts recommended Wednesday that the engines on Boeing’s troubled 737 Max airplanes be modified quickly to prevent smoke from filling the cockpit or cabin after a safety feature is activated following a bird strike..”
Just to clarify: because the 737 doesn’t have EICAS, it instead uses smoke signals to alert the flight crew to engine bird strikes 😉
Thanks for the clarification, Ab.
🙂
ABALONE
Smoke Signals??????
That was actually funny
Old article which you always seem to select over the current information. Wonder why that is?
This was discussed in the NTSB hearing on the 737 MAX over the summer, to which the FAA responded that both Airbus and Boeing were working on a fast valve closure solution to the smoke issue. This is because the problem is common to all LEAP engines
In the meantime the FAA stated that crew adherence to procedure was sufficient to deal with the problem, and issued an advisory bulletin reviewing the procedure.
Notably EASA did the exact same thing, issuing an advisory that reviewed the procedure and that a solution is being developed.
Seriously, a 6th grader with a web browser could debunk most of the misinformation you guys post here.
Please provide a sourced article that supports your version of events as I do, then; your word is not adequate.
Pelle at Mentour Pilot (a current 737 line pilot, well technically-versed, and it shows) covered this issue
very well, in multiple videos. Maybe you have
not yet seen them.
Just have to read the bulletins from the FAA and EASA. They are the definitive source. This is the current resolution of the problem. Away from here, I have not seen anyone argue against that outcome, or claim that it did not take place.
As usual, this is the only place where the accepted truth is not accepted. Again, I wonder why that is? It’s a mystery!!!!
@ Vincent
The links that I posted below fully coroborate your posts — particularly the fact that the problem hasn’t been fixed, and that BA is attempting to have a software patch ready in 2026 (though one should take that estimate with a pinch of salt).
Those same links expose other narratives as being false distortions.
+1
@ Vincent
Luckily, this problem doesn’t relate to the LEAP-1A (Airbus) — it’s specific to the LEAP-1B (Boeing).
Boeing is working on a software fix that it “expects” to have ready in 2026…though that date is probably wildly optimistic.
From the link below:
“The NTSB is urging the FAA to ensure flight crews are aware of risks posed by a CFM International Leap-1B safety device that can cause smoke in the cockpit and wants an in-progress software modification to the system fast-tracked and mandated by regulators.
“In a final report and set of recommendations made June 18, the board expressed concern that Boeing 737 MAX pilots may not understand the system, called a load reduction device (LRD), or the ramifications if it activates.
“The LRD activates when an engine’s fan suffers severe damage. The system separates the fan rotor from the rest of the engine, so the fan’s vibrations do not damage the surrounding structure. But the process causes oil to enter the flow path, which routes smoke and fumes into bleed ports that provide flight deck and cabin air.
“Boeing and CFM are developing a software modification that is expected to be ready in the first quarter of 2026”
https://aviationweek.com/air-transport/safety-ops-regulation/ntsb-urges-swift-action-more-awareness-cfm-leap-safety-system
Excellent sleuthing, man. TFTL.
#Boeing-specific
This is absolutely false. Jesus.
https://airguide.info/easa-warns-a320neo-pilots-of-potential-smoke-risks-from-leap-engines/
Like I said, a 6th grader would be more honest and accurate.
2 year old.
https://www.easa.europa.eu/en/newsroom-and-events/news/easa-issues-sib-load-reduction-device-activation-leap-engines
From 18. Jul. 2025
“The SIB was published in response to two incidents on Boeing 737-8 airplanes being powered by CFM LEAP-1B”
add:
“there have been no in-service events involving LRD activation in the Airbus A320 NEO family.”
i.e. EASA thinking: “better safe than sorry”
@ Vincent
None of these smoke incidents at all on Airbus frames.
Out of an abundance of caution, however, the EASA did issue an advisory, cautioning pilots to keep an eye out. That advisory clearly states:
“While the Airbus A320neo-family aircraft have not experienced load-reduction device (LRD) activations to date, EASA is urging enhanced pilot preparedness following similar incidents on Boeing 737 MAX aircraft equipped with LEAP-1B engines.”
You can read that for yourself here:
https://airguide.info/easa-warns-a320neo-pilots-of-potential-smoke-risks-from-leap-engines/
“None of these smoke incidents at all on Airbus frames.”
Strange. I have an impression that there’re more A320neo family aircraft flying than that unfortunately name one, max.
Damn statistics.
Part of story you left out…
“Similar engine models with the same safety feature are also used on Airbus A320neo planes and C919 planes made by the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China. ”
So its an engine issue
“Similar” does not equal “same”. Do some research before posting, please.
@Duke
However, the design of aircraft are different!! 😂 Don’t you agree??
Truly amazing.
Trump has spread far and wide.
> More than half of U.S. farms are losing money, threatening small towns and rural economies.
Farm bankruptcies in the 12 months ending in June were up 56% from the previous year.
https://t.co/F3jqWFUsFO
Yep, same group that elected Trump the first time, then did it again, I wonder if they will secretly vote the other way next time (if there is a next time)
But then those independent American Farmers took a payout last time, good thing they had money in the fund because its gone now. But then you have to only bribe your way out of Soy Beans the first time.
Ooops, the market is gone now. Grow more corn! Dang, the market is corn saturated (in the US) and we can’t sell that over seas either. What a farmer to do?
Isn’t Europe the mother of all protected farm markets?
They are coming (cont’d)
155 seats!
> American Airlines has a date for its first A321XLR flight: Dec. 18, AA3 departing JFK at 11:00 and arriving LAX at 14:18.
The XLR features American’s new Flagship business class suite and premium economy seats.