Boeing and federal investigators are looking for what caused debris from the engine of a brand new 787 Dreamliner to fall off the plane and spark a grass fire at Charleston International Airport in South Carolina Saturday.
The Wall Street Journal reports the incident happened during a preflight test. The 787 was powered with engines made by General Electric and was set to be delivered to Air India.
A person familiar with the investigation ruled out a foreign object being sucked into the engine, and that the focus would be on the engine’s turbine section. There was no damage to the front fan.
A GE spokeperson confirmed debris came out of the back of the engine and was contained by the casing that surrounds the engine.
In a statement, Boeing said “we are unaware of any operational issue that would present concerns about the continued safe operation of in-service 787s powered by GE engines.”
The 787 is assembled in North Charleston, S.C., and in Everett, Wash.
Last week, several All Nippon Airways 787’s with Rolls-Royce PLC Trent 1000 engines were grounded after corrosion was found in gearbox components.
Story compiled by KING 5's Travis Pittman
