U.S. Begins 2nd Probe of GE Jet Engines

BOSTON —  Federal authorities are investigating more reports of defective General Electric jet engines used in the Navy’s F-18 fighter planes after cracks were found in hundreds of engine parts, it was reported today.

Navy and Federal Aviation Administration inspectors questioned GE officials at the Lynn, Mass., plant Wednesday in the second federal investigation into defective jet engine parts at the plant in four months, the Boston Herald reported.

GE spokesman William Kennedy said the company alerted the Navy after cracks were found in rocker arms that control valve-like vanes on the outside of F-404 engines, used in the Navy’s F-18 jet fighters.

Kennedy said the company did not know if the faulty component was contained in engines that have already been shipped.

The cracks reportedly were found in “a few hundred parts” supplied to GE by Berkshire Manufactured Products Inc. of Newburyport, Mass.

Kennedy said it was “unlikely” that the faulty components would ever cause engine failure or jeopardize the safety of the plane.

Navy and FAA officials said they would soon issue a decision on whether to fine GE for about 30,000 defective parts found in a separate investigation last April at the Lynn plant.