Boeing and GE investigate Dreamliner engine problem

The incident on Saturday involved a 787 destined for Air India and powered by engines made by GE.

The GEnx engine – the same as those selected by Qatar Airways - showed no signs of damage to the large front fan according to Wall Street Journal’s Jon Ostrower. The newspaper’s source ruled out a foreign object being sucked into the engine and said the focus of scrutiny is on the rear components in the engine's turbine sections.

GE spokesman Rick Kennedy confirmed debris exited the rear of the engine and was contained by the casing that surrounds the engine's hot core. The engine is being shipped to a GE facility for further examination.

In a statement Boeing said it was "unaware of any operational issue that would present concerns about the continued safe operation of in-service 787s powered by GE engines.

The incident came less than a week after several ANA Rolls-Royce Trent 1000-powered 787s were temporarily grounded after corrosion was found in gearbox components.

The Qatar Airways B787 using a GEnx engine flew from the USA to Farnborough Airshow in the USA and back again two weeks ago without any problem leading experts on the ground to suspect that this will be a single maintenance issue.