SIA grounds two Boeing 787-10s over engine issues
Singapore Airlines (SIA), which was the first to operate the Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner last year, has grounded two of its nine jets, the airline said yesterday, confirming an earlier report in The Straits Times.
The planes are all fitted with the latest Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 TEN engines, an improved version of the Trent 1000 engine, which has had issues with premature blade cracking.
Sources had told ST that preliminary checks showed that the same cracked blade issue is affecting the new TEN engine.
SIA said in a statement that during recent routine inspections of the Trent 1000 TEN engines on the B787-10 fleet, premature blade deterioration was found on some engines.
"As safety is our top priority, the SIA Group, in consultation with Rolls-Royce, proactively identified other Trent 1000 TEN engines in the group's 787 fleet to undergo precautionary inspections.
"All of these engine inspections on SIA's 787-10 fleet have now been completed, and a remaining check will be completed on a Scoot 787-9 by April 3," he said.
Pending engine replacements, two SIA 787-10 aircraft have been removed from service.
SIA is operating other aircraft for these flights to minimise disruption, but as the replacement aircraft may have lower capacity, some customers may be affected and will be contacted.
The spokesman said: "We regret the inconvenience caused and sincerely apologise to customers whose travel plans are affected and seek their understanding."
Separately, SIA's regional arm, SilkAir, has also been affected by the grounding of its Boeing 737 Max 8.
The planes have been on the tarmac since March 12, as part of a global precautionary measure, following two crashes involving the aircraft type.
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