Pratt & Whitney, the U.S. manufacturer of McDonnell Douglas engines that last month developed cracks and prompted Japan Air System to cancel nearly 600 flights, has admitted there have been several in-flight engine shutdowns due to such trouble.
Mark Sullivan, a Pratt & Whitney spokesman, told Kyodo News that six incidents occurred in the past five years in which in-flight shutdowns resulted from a compressor fracture in the company's JT8D-200 series engine but said it would not compromise the safety of the twin-engine aircraft.
In Japan, the engine trouble was discovered Jan. 6 on an MD-81 flight from Fukuoka to Sendai just before takeoff. The following day, an MD-87 bound for Osaka experienced vibrations in the left engine while in flight, prompting the pilot to shut it down and return to Kagoshima where the flight originated.