An American Airlines Group Inc. plane engine that caught fire in March had a fractured fan blade and another component installed backward, federal safety investigators said Thursday.

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, which has been investigating the March 13 incident, said in the preliminary report that the fan blade was damaged and another component attached to a part used to control airflow inside the engine was loose — and installed in the wrong direction. Both were on the right engine of the two-engine craft, the agency said.

The engines were built by CFM International Inc., a joint venture between General Electric Co. and Safran SA of France. American said it was cooperating with the NTSB investigation. GE declined to comment and Safran didn’t immediately reply to a req

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