Boeing jets grounded after engine drama
BOEING has recommended that airlines ground all 777s with the type of engine that blew apart after take-off from Denver this weekend. In response, most carriers with the planes in their fleets said they would temporarily pull them from service.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) 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 as pieces of the casing of the engine, a Pratt & Whitney PW4000, rained down on suburban neighbourhoods. None of the 231 passengers or 10 crew were hurt, and the flight landed safely, authorities said. United is among the carriers that has grounded the planes.
FAA administrator Steve Dickson said that based on an initial review of safety data, inspectors “concluded that the inspection interval should be stepped up for the hollow fan blades that are unique to this model of engine, used solely on Boeing 777 airplanes”.
Mr Dickson said that would probably mean some planes would be grounded – and Boeing said they should be until the FAA sets up an inspection regime. Japan ordered the planes out of service, according to the financial newspaper Nikkei. Boeing said there were 69 777s with the Pratt & Whitney 4000-112 engines in service and another 59 in storage. United had 24 of the planes in service. It is the only US airline with the engine in its fleet, according to the FAA.
Two Japanese airlines have another 32 that are being pulled while Asiana Airlines grounded nine, seven of which were in service, until Boeing establishes a plan to fix the problems. Korean Air said it was discussing whether to ground 16 aircraft, six of which are in service.
“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,” Boeing said in a statement, referring to American and Japanese regulators.
The engine maker said it was sending a team to work with investigators.
The UK’s Civil Aviation Authority said 777s with Pratt & Whitney 4000-112 engines have been banned from entering UK airspace. Video posted on Twitter from Saturday’s emergency showed the engine fully engulfed in flames as the plane flew through the air. Freeze frames from different videos taken by 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 were headed 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 aircraft pour down, just missing one home and crushing a truck.