New Embraer rule seeks to prevent loss of power midair

By Andy Pasztor

Seeking to prevent some engines on Embraer regional jets from suddenly losing power in midair, U.S. aviation regulators last week mandated replacement of suspect electronic engine-control software on more than 250 of the planes.

Issued November 23, the final rule expands a July 2008 safety directive that followed in-flight incidents during which General Electric Co. engines on six Embraer 170 aircraft lost thrust or became unresponsive to pilot commands. The problems cropped up when the engine-maker was moving to correct an earlier fault in the software affecting valves controlling fuel flow to the engines.

Those incidents prompted scrutiny and a number of safety studies by General Electric, plane-maker Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica S.A. and regulators world-wide.

Eight months ago, General Electric said the Embraer's 170 engine problems hadn't recurred since the summer of 2008. The engine maker and Embraer voluntarily moved to tell airlines to install a permanent fix, and by this spring General Electric said more than 80% of the planes affected by the original manufacturer safety bulletins and federal mandates had been fixed.

But since then, the FAA has records of another 20 similar incidents of loss of engine control affecting the twin-engine Embraer jets, according to the agency's updated safety document. The revised engine-control software must be installed within 600 hours of flight time after the latest rule goes into effect in late December.

The FAA said it is mandating the fix "to prevent loss of thrust control of the airplane" and to address "an unsafe condition" in the fleet of Embraer 170 jets.

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