VOA慢速英語：美國在致命事故后下令對飛機發(fā)動機進行嚴格檢查

US Orders Engine Inspection after Deadly Airplane Accident

美國在致命事故后下令對飛機發(fā)動機進行嚴格檢查

United States airline officials have ordered inspections of some jet engines after a passenger airplane suffered a deadly accident this week.

在本周有一架客機遭遇致命事故之后，美國航空系統(tǒng)官員已經(jīng)下令對一些噴氣發(fā)動機進行檢查。

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced the order late Wednesday. However, the engine's manufacturer and European officials had called for careful inspections several months earlier.

美國聯(lián)邦航空管理局周三晚些時候發(fā)布了這項命令。然而，該發(fā)動機的制造商和歐洲官員早在幾個月前就要求對此進行嚴格檢查。

The engine on a Southwest Airlines plane blew apart on Tuesday. Debris from the explosion broke a window. A woman sitting next to the window was partially sucked out of the plane. She later died of her injuries. The plane, which was traveling from New York to Dallas, Texas, made an emergency landing in Philadelphia.

美國西南航空公司這架飛機的引擎在周二發(fā)生了炸裂。爆炸產(chǎn)生的碎片擊中了一扇窗戶，坐在窗邊的一位女士身體被部分吸出飛機。她后來傷重不治。這架從紐約市飛往德州達拉斯市的飛機在費城進行了緊急降落。

Investigators said a blade in the engine broke off during the flight. They said the blade showed signs of metal fatigue — very small cracks that can break apart under stress.

調查人員表示，飛機發(fā)動機的一扇葉片在飛行期間發(fā)生了脫落。他們表示，該葉片出現(xiàn)了金屬疲勞的跡象，這種非常細微的裂紋在壓力下可能會斷裂。

In 2016, U.S. officials also blamed metal fatigue on a similar engine failure on another Southwest Airlines plane in Florida.

2016年，美國官員還將美國西南航空公司在佛羅里達州另一架飛機發(fā)生的類似發(fā)動機故障歸咎于金屬疲勞。

The incident led the manufacturer CFM International to recommend last June that airlines carry out inspections of fan blades in its CFM56-7B engines.

這起事故導致去年6月發(fā)動機制造商CFM國際公司建議航空公司對該公司生產(chǎn)的CF56-7B發(fā)動機的葉片進行檢查。

CFM International is a joint business of GE Aviation and France's Safran Aircraft Engines. The company says over 8,000 CFM56-7B engines are currently in use on Boeing's 737 airplanes.

CFM國際公司是由美國通用航空和法國賽峰飛機發(fā)動機公司組建的合資公司。該公司表示，目前有超過8千臺CFM56-7B發(fā)動機在波音737飛機上使用。

Robert Sumwalt is chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board. He said, "Engine failures like this should not occur."

美國國家運輸安全委員會主席羅伯特·桑沃特 (Robert Sumwalt)表示，“這種引擎故障就不應該發(fā)生。”

But he advised it was too soon to question the safety of the engines or the Boeing 737s. The plane is the most popular commercial airplane in the world.

但他表示現(xiàn)在質疑發(fā)動機或波音737飛機的安全性尚為時過早。這種機型是全球最受歡迎的商用飛機。

On Wednesday, the FAA said it will require inspections of fan blades on CFM56-7B engines after they reach a certain number of takeoffs and landings. Blades that fail inspection would need to be replaced.

美國聯(lián)邦航空管理局表示，該局將會要求對起降達到一定次數(shù)的CFM56-7B發(fā)動機的葉片進行檢查。未通過檢查的葉片需要更換。

Southwest Airlines announced its own program for similar inspections of its 700 planes over the next month.

美國西南航空公司宣布了自己的計劃，將在下個月對該公司700架飛機進行類似檢查。

I'm Mario Ritter.

馬里奧·里特報道。