Rolls-Royce Engine Dependability: Fact or Fiction

Rolls-Royce Engine Dependability: Fact or Fiction

It was back in the 1990s when Airbus announced that they were going to build a large aircraft, as a natural successor to the largest commercial plane in the world, the Boeing 747. When Airbus announced it was designating their new aircraft the A3XX, Rolls-Royce stepped up to develop their next generation of turbo fan engines, the Rolls-Royce Trent 900.By the year 2000, Airbus decided the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 would be the engine that would launch the first A380 sold. By 2009, Rolls-Royce held nearly 52% of the engine market on all of the A380s manufactured and in production. Though it has been a bumpy ride, with all the major delays Airbus had in producing the A380, Rolls-Royce and the Trent 900 finally took the leadership role in powering Airbus' largest aircraft.However, on November 4, 2010, while in flight over Singapore, a Qantas Airbus A380 experienced a major uncontained failure of the port side Rolls-Royce Trent 900 turbo fan engine. Though no one was injured as the aircraft made a safe landing at Singapore's Changi International Airport, many questions have arisen about the Rolls-Royce engine's dependability.Qantas and Singapore Airlines immediately grounded all of their A380s powered by the Trent 900, to begin inspection of all of their Rolls-Royce engines. Qantas announce within a few days that it found numerous small leaks on the Trent 900 engines on three of their other A380s. Scrambling to find the cause of the uncontained failure, Transportation Safety Bureaus from around the world are placing strict restrictions on any A380 deemed not flight worthy.At this time, the problem seems to be centered on mangled pieces of a shattered turbine disc, as airworthiness of all aircraft powered by the Trent 900 is called into question. Early indicators suggest a fire might have erupted inside the engine causing the disc to fail. Though it's important to get the A380 fleet back up into the air, safety is the number one concern for the airlines and the flight safety agencies.The challenge facing Rolls-Royce with its Trent 900 and the new Trent 1000 is the public's perception of the dependability involving their engines. Unlike the thousands of engines used on other major commercial aircraft, there simply isn't enough Trent 900 turbo fan engines installed and in service on A380s to work through engine safety issues on these aircraft that have now flown for thousands of hours. How fast Rolls-Royce finds and corrects this problem will determine the airlines' and passenger's opinions on the dependability of their Trent 900 engine.

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