Boeing has recommended that airlines ground its fleet of 777 planes after one malfunctioned mid-air near Denver, Colorado.
United Airlines flight 328 from Denver International Airport to Honolulu, Hawaii, turned around shortly after takeoff once pilots reported an engine issue on Saturday. The pilots landed the plane safely, and no injuries were reported, even as debris fell from the plane and landed in the residential town of Broomfield, a suburb about 20 miles from Denver, according to the local police department.
Boeing said they have 69 in-service and 59 in-storage 777 planes, which are powered by Pratt & Whitney 4000-112 engines.
PLANE LANDS SAFELY IN COLORADO AFTER DEBRIS FALLS OFF MIDAIR
“Boeing is actively monitoring recent events related to United Airlines Flight 328. While the NTSB investigation is ongoing, we recommended suspending operations of the 69 in-service and 59 in-storage 777s powered by Pratt & Whitney 4000-112 engines until the FAA identifies the appropriate inspection protocol,” the company said in a statement.
United is the only U.S. airline company to have this specific engine within its fleet, while two other Japanese companies do as well, according to the Associated Press.
“Boeing supports the decision yesterday by the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau, and the FAA’s action today to suspend operations of 777 aircraft powered by Pratt & Whitney 4000-112 engines,” Boeing said. “We are working with these regulators as they take actions while these planes are on the ground and further inspections are conducted by Pratt & Whitney.”
On Sunday, Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Steve Dickson announced that he directed his team of aviation safety experts to declare an Emergency Airworthiness Directive that would “require immediate or stepped-up inspections of Boeing 777 airplanes equipped with certain Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engine,” and he said the move will likely result in “some airplanes being removed from service.”
Dickson announced that after the initial investigation, “We concluded that the inspection interval should be stepped up for the hollow fan blades that are unique to this model of engine.”
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The National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the Denver flight, said its initial examination revealed that most of the damage “was confined to the number 2 engine,” which they said had two “fractured” fan blades and the “inlet and cowling separated from the engine.”
The same day the flight in Denver malfunctioned, another Boeing plane, this one a 747 cargo plane, experienced an engine fire. Pieces of metal fell from the plane into the town of Meerssen in the Netherlands, injuring two people. The plane was supposed to go from Maastricht Aachen Airport to JFK Airport in New York City.
“Our flight crew dealt with this situation professionally and in accordance with the correct aviation standards, resulting in a safe and uneventful landing,” said Martin Amick, accountable manager for Longtail Aviation, according to CNN. “We are now in the process of working closely with the Dutch, Belgian, Bermuda, and U.K. authorities to understand the cause of this incident.”
