Expert doesn’t expect engine failure to hurt the company

The failure of a Pratt & Whitneymade engine on a United Airlines flight over Colorado Saturday is unlikely to disrupt the long-term operations of one of Connecticut’s largest employers, an aviation expert told Hearst Connecticut Media.

National Transportation Safety Board officials have grounded Boeing 777-200 jets with Pratt & Whitney engines, as they investigate the malfunction of a PW4000-112 engine mounted on the plane that showered debris on Denver suburbs before the aircraft made an emergency landing. Pratt & Whitney said in a statement that it has sent a team to work with investigators probing United Airlines Flight 328.

Aviation analyst Richard Aboulafia said, however, that he did not think the incident would undermine Pratt & Whitney’s long track record of powering Boeing 777 planes.

“It’s almost certainly maintenance-specific,” Aboulafia, vice president of analysis for aerospace and defense market analysis firm Teal Group Corp., said in an interview Monday. “It could be a specific manufacturing defect on a given batch. That’s unlikely — but you can’t rule it out — so you have to look into it. But most likely it’s maintenance.

“This engine is really not up for sale anymore except for the Air Force tanker program, so it’s not going to impact commercial competitiveness moving forward.”

Pratt & Whitney added in its statement that it is “actively coordinating with operators and regulators to support the revised inspection interval of the Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines that power Boeing 777 aircraft.” Any subsequent investigative updates will be at the discretion of the NTSB, while Pratt & Whitney “will continue to work to ensure the safe operation of the fleet.”

Production of the PW4000-112 supports the Boeing 777-200 and 777300 aircraft, which are the only models that use the engine.

“It’s been 26 years of 777 operations, billions of revenue-passenger miles flown and not a single casualty attributable to the aircraft. That’s incredible,” Aboulafia said. “Something like this looks ugly, but the end result is no casualties and a return to base.”

Pratt & Whitney employs about 11,000 across its headquarters plant in East Hartford and another large facility in Middletown, according to its latest report.

Middletown Mayor Ben Florsheim said Monday that he had not received any communications from Pratt.

“It’s a troubling thing to read about (issues being experienced by) any company that has a presence here. I’m eager to hear what, if any, impact there will be,” he said.

If the Middletown facility were affected by the incident, Florsheim said that “we’ll be ready to work with the company and workforce in any way we can.”

A message left Monday for East Hartford Mayor Marcia Leclerc was not immediately returned.

Along with GE Aviation, Rolls Royce, and Safran, Pratt & Whitney ranks in the global top four of commercial-aircraft “turbofan” engine manufacturers.

“You don’t get there by being weak,” Aboulafia said.

Pratt & Whitney is a linchpin of the state’s manufacturing sector, which comprises one of Connecticut’s largest industries. About 158,000 worked in manufacturing in the state in December, down 2 percent year over year, according to the state Department of Labor.

Unlike some of the state’s other largest employers, Pratt & Whitney is not receiving any subsidies through the state Department of Economic and Community Development to retain or hire employees.