Boeing: 777s with engine that blew apart should be grounded

Boeing has recommended airlines ground all 777s with the type of engine that blew apart after taking off from Denver this weekend, and most of the airlines flying these planes said they would be temporarily phasing them out.

The US Federal Aviation Administration ordered United Airlines to step up inspections of the aircraft after one of its flights made an emergency landing at Denver International Airport on Saturday when parts of the engine casing, a Pratt & Whitney PW4000, rained on suburban areas. None of the 231 passengers or 10 crew members were injured and the flight landed safely, authorities said. United is one of the airlines that grounded the planes.

FAA Administrator Steve Dickson said in a statement on Sunday that based on an initial review of the safety data, the inspectors concluded that the inspection interval for the hollow fan blades, which is unique to this engine model, which is only used in the Boeing 777- Aircraft used should be increased. ”

Dickson said that would likely mean some planes would be on the ground – and Boeing said it should be until the FAA puts in place an inspection regime. Japan ordered the planes out of service, according to financial newspaper Nikkei, but found that an engine from the same family had problems in December.

Boeing said there were 69,777 in use with the Pratt & Whitney 4000-112 engines and another 59 in the warehouse.

United operated 24 aircraft; According to the FAA, it is the only US airline with the engine in its fleet. Two Japanese airlines have another 32 drawn, while Asiana Airlines pegged nine, with seven operating until Boeing put in place a plan to fix the issues. Korean Air said it was discussing grounding 16 aircraft, six of which are in service.

“We are working with these regulators as they take action while these aircraft are on site and Pratt & Whitney conducts further inspections,” Boeing said in a statement released on Sunday referring to American and Japanese regulators.

The engine maker said it is sending a team to work with investigators.

Last weekend’s emergency landing is the latest problem for Boeing, whose 737 Max planes lay on the ground for more than a year after two fatal crashes in 2019 and are suffering from the huge reduction in air traffic due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Max planes returned to the skies late last year – a huge boost for the aircraft manufacturer, which lost billions on landing because it couldn’t deliver new planes to customers.

The video of the emergency on Saturday posted on Twitter showed that the engine was completely on fire as the plane flew through the air. Still images from various videos taken of a passenger sitting slightly in front of the engine and also posted on Twitter appeared to show a broken fan blade in the engine.

Passengers who flew to Honolulu said they feared the plane would crash after an explosion and flash of light, while people on the ground saw huge chunks of the plane flow down, just missing a house and crushing a truck. The explosion, visible from the ground, left a trail of black smoke in the sky.

The US National Transportation Safety Board said two of the engine’s fan blades were broken and the rest of the fan blades “showed damage.” However, it was warned that it was too early to draw any conclusions about what happened.

United says it will work closely with the FAA and the NTSB “to determine additional steps needed to ensure these aircraft meet our strict safety standards and are ready to return to service.”

The NTSB said the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder were transported to its Washington laboratory for the data to be analyzed. NTSB investigations can take up to a year or more, although in most cases the agency releases investigative materials mid-way through the process.

Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transportation and Tourism said a PW4000 family engine had problems with a Japan Airlines 777 that flew from Naha to Tokyo on Dec. 4. The airline said the plane had engine problems after taking off and was returning to Naha. According to the airline, an inspection revealed damage to the engine housing and missing fan blades. In response, stricter inspections were ordered.

Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways will cease operating 32 aircraft with this engine, Nikkei reported.

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