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Boeing has called for the grounding of 128 of its 777 aircraft around the world as US regulators investigated a United Airlines flight whose engine caught fire and collapsed over a suburban US city.
United, Korean Air and Japan’s two major airlines confirmed they had already suspended operations of 56 planes equipped with the same engine that crashed mid-flight over Colorado on Saturday.
The US National Transportation and Safety Board (NTSB) is also investigating the incident, in which no one was injured.
Boeing said similarly equipped planes should be out of service until the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) has determined an inspection procedure.
“While the NTSB investigation is ongoing, we recommend suspending operations of the 69 777 aircraft in service and 59 in storage powered by Pratt & Whitney 4000-112 engines,” the company said.
Flight 328 @United The engine caught fire. my parents are on this flight, they are all fine! pic.twitter.com/cBt82nIkqb
– michaela🦋 (@michaelagiulia) February 20, 2021
Japan Airlines (JAL) and All Nippon Airways (ANA) said they had grounded 13 and 19 aircraft with PW4000 engines, respectively, but had avoided flight cancellations using other aircraft.
The Japanese Transport Ministry said it had ordered stricter inspections of the engine after a JAL 777 aircraft flying from Haneda to Naha experienced problems with “an engine from the same family” in December.
United said it had voluntarily decommissioned 24 Boeing 777s and expected “only a small number of customers would be disturbed.”
But Korean Air, the nation’s largest airline and flag carrier, said it had grounded its six Boeing 777s with currently operating PW4000 engines.
“We have decided to ground all of our PW 4000 powered 777s and look forward to the updated FAA protocol soon,” the company said.
The FAA had previously ordered additional inspections of some passenger aircraft.
Steve Dickson, the regulator’s chief, said he had consulted with experts and that some planes “probably” would be withdrawn from service.
“I have directed them to issue an Emergency Airworthiness Directive that would require immediate or intensified inspections of Boeing 777 aircraft equipped with certain Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines,” it said in a statement.
Dickson added that a preliminary safety data review pointed to the need for additional checks of the jet engine fan blades, which were unique to the engine model and only used on 777 aircraft.
FAA officials met last night with representatives from Pratt & Whitney and Boeing, it added.
New blow for Boeing
Flight UA328 was en route from Denver to Honolulu when it experienced an engine failure shortly after departure.
Residents of the Denver suburb of Broomfield found large pieces of the plane scattered throughout their community.
No one on board or ashore was injured.
But the engine failure marks a further blow for Boeing after several high-profile aviation accidents.
The manufacturer’s 737 MAX was grounded globally in March 2019 after 346 people were killed in two accidents, the 2019 Lion Air disaster in Indonesia and an Ethiopian Airlines accident the following year.
Investigators said that one of the main causes of both accidents was a faulty flight management system known as the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS.
Boeing was forced to revamp the system and implement new pilot training protocols.
The 737 MAX was a huge hit with airlines, becoming Boeing’s fastest-selling aircraft until its grounding, which has now been lifted.
After the Covid-19 crisis decimated demand, airlines canceled hundreds of orders for the plane.
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