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US NTSB probes GE engine explosion

NEW YORK, June 14 (Reuters) - The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said it is investigating an engine explosion that occurred during testing on an American Airlines Boeing 767 that set the craft afire and scattered pieces as far as 3,000 feet away.

The explosion two weeks ago in Los Angeles was apparently caused by fatigue cracking, the NTSB said in a statement on Tuesday. There were no reported injuries.

The incident may lead to more frequent inspections for certain engines made by General Electric Co., The Wall Street Journal said.

NTSB said that during a ground maintenance test at Los Angeles International Airport a turbine disk on the aircraft's No. 1 engine broke into several pieces that were found embedded in the fuselage and the airliner's other engine.

Flying pieces from the exploding engine, a GE CF6-80, punched numerous holes in the plane's wings and caused fuel leaks that led to a ground fire. The fire was extinguished and three workers aboard the plane were not hurt, NTSB said.

An initial examination of the disk pieces found indications of fatigue cracking, NTSB said. The failed engine was taken to a facility run by American Airlines, a unit of AMR Corp., in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for further inspection under NTSB supervision.

Air India's 747-300s and some of the A310 fleet is to be checked.