GE Aerospace CF6
668 US-registered aircraft fly this program — 1,569 installed engines across 28 registry codes
Program snapshot(US registry)
28 registry engine codes aggregated
76 aircraft flying the CF6 left the US registry and stayed domestic since 2023 — a teardown proxy, not confirmed part-outs — at an average age of 44.8 years. 23 more were exported and left the US fleet intact.
FAA registry data, US-registered aircraft only. Deregs = domestic deregistrations — a teardown proxy that also captures re-registrations and some unflagged exports, never a confirmed part-out count. Median build year is a tails-weighted median of per-variant medians (≈). 246 of 668 active tails are registered under generic series codes rather than a specific variant, so per-variant splits are partial.
Registry codes under this program
FAA registry — as registered, variants + generic series rows
| Engine model | Active tails | Engine units | Median build yr | Deregs since ’23 | Exported | Avg age at dereg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CF6-80C2B6F | 254 | 508 | 2018 | 1 | 4 | 29 yr |
| CF6-80 seriesgeneric code | 237 | 571 | 1997 | 13 | 2 | 36.9 yr |
| CF6-80C2B1F | 37 | 148 | 1999 | 0 | 0 | — |
| CF6-80C2B6 | 25 | 50 | 1992 | 2 | 2 | 31.7 yr |
| CF6-80C2D1F | 24 | 72 | 1996 | 1 | 0 | 35 yr |
| CF6-50C2 | 10 | 30 | 1980 | 3 | 0 | 46 yr |
| CF6-80E1A4 | 10 | 20 | 2016 | 0 | 3 | 17 yr |
| CF6-80C2B7F | 10 | 20 | 1998 | 0 | 3 | 15.3 yr |
| CF6-6 | 9 | 21 | 1998 | 31 | 0 | 48 yr |
| CF6-80A | 9 | 18 | 1984 | 3 | 3 | 39 yr |
| CF6-50 seriesgeneric code | 9 | 26 | 1986 | 1 | 3 | 43 yr |
| CF6-80C2A5F | 6 | 12 | 2007 | 0 | 0 | — |
+ 16 more registry codes covering 28 active tails (each under 6 tails).
Counts reflect the engine model exactly as registered. Registry-wide, roughly 57% of engine records name a specific variant; the rest carry generic series codes, so generic rows coexist with variant rows and per-variant figures are partial. Deregs = domestic deregistrations (a teardown proxy, not confirmed part-outs); exported aircraft left the US fleet intact.
Airframe applications
FAA registry + BTS T-100 family rollups
| Family | Tails on this program | Family US fleet | Avg fleet age | Built 15+ yrs ago | Avg cycles / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 767 | 449 | 565 | 21 yr | 323 | 477 |
| 747 | 71 | 191 | 22.7 yr | 116 | 266 |
| MD-11 | 70 | 108 | 32.1 yr | 96 | 243 |
| A300 | 44 | 120 | 27.4 yr | 118 | 473 |
| DC-10 | 21 | 31 | 45.7 yr | 20 | — |
| A330 | 10 | 160 | 12.4 yr | 54 | 412 |
| A310 | 2 | 4 | 42.2 yr | 4 | — |
“Tails on this program” counts US-registered aircraft the registry rollup maps to both the family and a CF6 engine code — an undercount, since not every tail resolves to a family. Family fleet, age, and cycles columns describe the WHOLE family across every engine option, not just CF6-powered aircraft (cycles from BTS T-100, 2025).
Airworthiness Directive activity
FAA / EASA public regulatory data
- FAA AD 2025-10-11effective Jun 24, 2025Prohibition
The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain General Electric Company (GE) Model CF6-80E1A2, CF6-80E1A3, CF6-80E1A4, and CF6-80E1A4/B engines. This AD was prompted by a manufacturer investigation that revealed certain high-pressure turbine (HPT) stage 1 and HPT stage 2 disks were manufactured from powder metal material suspected to contain iron inclusion. This AD requires replacement of affected HPT stage 1 and HPT stage 2 disks with parts eligible for installation. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.
- FAA AD 2023-20-08effective Oct 19, 2023Prohibition
The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain General Electric Company (GE) Model CF6-80C2B1F, CF6-80C2B2F, CF6-80C2B4F, CF6-80C2B5F, CF6-80C2B6F, CF6-80C2B7F, and CF6-80C2K1F engines. This AD was prompted by an uncontained engine fire and consequent manufacturer investigation, which revealed that certain bearings were installed improperly. This AD requires inspection of the magnetic chip detector (MCD) probe tip for metallic particles and, if necessary, removal of the engine from service. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.
- FAA AD 2023-18-04effective Oct 19, 2023Prohibition
The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain General Electric Company (GE) Model CF6-80E1A2, CF6-80E1A3, CF6-80E1A4, and CF6-80E1A4/B engines. This AD was prompted by a manufacturer investigation that revealed that a certain forward outer seal and certain high-pressure turbine rotor (HPTR) stage 1 disks and rotating seals were manufactured from material suspected to contain iron inclusion, which may cause reduced material properties and a lower fatigue life capability. This AD requires the replacement of the affected forward outer seal, HPTR stage 1 disks, and rotating seals. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.
- FAA AD 2023-04-11effective Apr 28, 2023Prohibition
The FAA is superseding Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2012-02-07 for certain General Electric Company (GE) CF6-45 and CF6-50 series model turbofan engines with a specified low-pressure turbine (LPT) rotor stage 3 disk installed. AD 2012-02-07 required inspections of high-pressure turbine (HPT) and LPT rotors, engine checks, vibration surveys, an optional LPT rotor stage 3 disk removal after a failed HPT blade borescope inspection (BSI) or a failed engine core vibration survey, established a lower life limit for the affected LPT rotor stage 3 disks, and required removing these disks from service at times determined by a drawdown plan. This AD was prompted by the occurrence of four events of separation of the LPT rotor assembly, which resulted in the LPT rotor assembly departing the rear of the engine. This AD requires inspections of HPT and LPT rotor stage 1 and stage 2 blades, vibration surveys, and use of a lower life limit for the affected LPT rotor stage 3 disks and, as terminating action to the inspections, engine checks, and vibration surveys, this AD requires removal and replacement of the LPT rotor stage 3 disk with a redesigned LPT rotor stage 3 disk. This AD also requires revising the compliance time of the drawdown plan for the removal and replacement of the LPT rotor stage 3 disk and prohibits the installation or reinstallation of certain LPT rotor stage 3 disks. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.
- FAA AD 2021-26-22effective Mar 14, 2022Mixed actions
The FAA is superseding Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2020-20-13 for certain General Electric Company (GE) CF6-80A and CF6-80C model turbofan engines. AD 2020-20-13 required ultrasonic inspection (UI) of high-pressure turbine (HPT) stage 1 and stage 2 disks and replacement of any HPT stage 1 or stage 2 disk that fails the inspection. This AD was prompted by an uncontained failure of an HPT stage 2 disk and the manufacturer's subsequent determination to expand the population of affected HPT disks requiring UI inspection. This AD requires UI of HPT stage 1 and stage 2 disks and replacement of any HPT stage 1 or stage 2 disk that fails the inspection. This AD also expands the applicability to include an additional population of affected HPT stage 1 and 2 disks requiring UI inspection. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.
Directives in the FAA / EASA corpus we have processed whose text names CF6 engine models — not a complete historical AD list, and text matching can include airframe directives that reference the engine. An AD is a compliance requirement that drives scheduled work on a regulator's clock — a regulatory compliance signal, not a failure prediction, and no comment on this engine's reliability.