Originally Posted by
JamesNoBrakes
So it wouldn't be a big deal to replace a multi-million dollar motor with another multi-million dollar motor? I think that'd still be a pretty big deal and ground the planes, and I doubt they'd just put the other motors in there rather than figure out the problem and what would be most cost effective.
The other motor would probably not be a "drop-in" replacement that could be done quickly in the field. As such it would not really be useful in most situations like this where some quick inspections and analysis will resolve the issue.
The alternate motor would have been theoretically useful in the unlikely event that a serious design flaw rendered the prime engine non-flyable without extensive re-design and re-manufacturing. But the cost of that insurance policy was many billions. I'm willing to do without. The backup should have been killed about ten years before it was (DoD tried hard).