How Cracks in Jet Engines Elude Exams, With Deadly Results
- Blade that failed over Denver had 3,000 trips since inspection
- Tests sometimes faulty and humans may miss signs of flaws
This article is for subscribers only.
As regulators around the world order urgent inspections of certain Boeing Co. 777 engines after one failed dramatically over suburban Denver last Saturday, they must also wrestle with a decades-old quandary:
The complex technology necessary to find cracks buried within metal parts can produce notoriously inconsistent results.