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WASHINGTON: A total of 128 Boeing 777s using the same Pratt & Whitney engine that failed on a flight from Denver have now been suspended, a spokeswoman for the giant US aircraft manufacturer confirmed on Monday (February 22).
“I have just received confirmation that all 777s equipped with this engine have been grounded,” he said in a text message to AFP.
In addition to United Airlines, the PW4000 engine type was also used by the All Nippon Airways (ANA) Japan Airlines (JAL) groups of Japan, as well as Asiana Airlines of South Korea.
READ: Japan Requests Airlines To Avoid Boeing 777 With Certain Engines As US Aviation Authority Issues New Directive
In a statement issued Sunday, Boeing recommended that all of the aircraft in question be grounded while US regulators investigated a United Airlines flight that was forced to return to the Denver airport after one of its engines caught fire and ignited. collapsed in an American suburban community.
Video recorded from inside the aircraft, which had 231 passengers and 10 crew members on board, showed the right engine burning and wobbling on the wing of the Boeing 777-200.
Its front fairing, which landed in the front yard of a home, missing by inches, was completely gone when the plane returned to the Denver airport.
There were no injuries on the plane or on the ground, authorities said.
Debris from the damaged engine of a United Airlines plane landed in a courtyard in Broomfield, Colorado, outside Denver, on February 20, 2021 (Photo: AFP / -).
The US National Transportation and Safety Board is also investigating the incident.
Boeing had warned that similarly equipped aircraft should be withdrawn from service until the Federal Aviation Authority has determined an inspection procedure.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.
JAL and ANA previously said that 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.”
South Korea’s Transportation Ministry said it had no immediate plans to land planes, adding that it was monitoring the situation.
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 777s with the PW 4000 engine and we await the updated protocol from the FAA soon,” the company told AFP in an emailed statement.
READ: Japan requests airlines to avoid the Boeing 777 with certain engines while the US aviation authority.
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 review of safety data 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 with representatives from Pratt & Whitney and Boeing on Sunday night, it added.
FRESH BLOWN 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.
Residents inspect the damage caused by fallen United Airlines plane engine debris in Broomfield, outside Denver, Colorado, on February 20, 2021 (Photo: AFP / Chet Strange).
The engine failure marks a further blow for Boeing after several high-profile aviation accidents.
The manufacturer’s 737 MAX was grounded around the world in March 2019 after 346 people were killed in two crashes: the 2018 Lion Air disaster in Indonesia and an Ethiopian Airlines crash 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.
