FAA Approves Largest Commercial Jet Engine Ever

The Federal Aviation Administration announced it has certified the largest commercial jet engine ever built on Monday, General Electric’s GE9x.

According to FOX Carolina, the enormous jet engine was developed to power Boeing’s new fleet of 777X aircraft, with the airplane manufacturer reaching out to GE on Twitter to say, “Great work and congratulations to your team!”

GE revealed the new jet engines would be composed of 16 blades and deliver 110,000 pounds of thrust at takeoff. The GE9x will be the quietest engine the company ever produced, while also delivering 10 percent lower fuel consumption.

“There is no substitute that can achieve the combination of size, power and fuel efficiency of the GE9X,” GE Aviation CEO John Slattery told FOX Carolina. “This engine will deliver unsurpassed value and reliability to our airline customers.”

The development of Boeing’s fleet of 777X was delayed after the manufacturer reported excessive wear inside the engine, a discovery that forced the postponement of the new aircraft’s first flights.

The Boeing 777X flew for the first time during tests in January, but the company was forced to delay the launch of commercial operations for the aircraft from 2021 to 2022. The plane can carry between 384 and 436 passengers, depending on the configuration.